Little Things
by Moultipass1
Summary: He tells himself that he doesn't know her as well as he thinks he does, so there's no need to worry about the voice in his head that keeps telling him she's not the kind of person who will go back to living her life after what she's seen, and she could be in danger. He tells himself that she doesn't need him, and he doesn't need her, and this is all for the best. - Leotilda post-s1
1. Prologue

**When I started watching Humans, I was thinking about how relaxing it was to watch a show without shipping anything in particular, not screaming at my TV every second about two characters who are perfect for each other but don't realize it, and focusing only on the plot.**

 **And then these two idiots got some screen time together.**

 **Yeah…**

 **I totally needed another impossible, addictive ship to add to my collection. Now this story is what my social life is going to be all about for the next few weeks. Thanks a lot, Colin and Lucy *eyeroll***

 **Anyway, ramblings aside, I hope you'll enjoy it, please don't hesitate to comment, I'll take both the good and the bad as long as I know people are reading :)**

 **This is just a prologue, I promise the chapters will be longer!**

* * *

 **Prologue**

If anyone were to ask Max, he would say that Leo has been in over his head from the very moment an angry woman neither of them had ever seen before asked them what the hell they were doing with her bag.

Leo would probably disagree, but then again, his brother has always lacked perspective, particularly when it comes to his own emotions.

Which is exactly how they find themselves in this situation. Running for their lives.

Again.

At least he's fully charged this time.

* * *

Of all the unlikely, terrible ideas she's ever had, this one easily makes it to the top 5. And the list is bloody long for someone her age.

It may even top the idea that got her in this mess in the first place. Which is saying a lot.

Of course, either this works and saves her life and no one will ever have to know about this crazy idea of hers, or it doesn't and she'll die and won't care about what everybody else thinks.

Not that she usually does, mind you.

Staring at herself in the mirror, trying not to wince at her transformation, Mattie takes a deep breath and focuses hard on making her voice as even as possible as she rehashes her role until she feels she has it down to perfection.

"Can I help you?"

Wait, that's not right. Too short.

"How may I help you?"

Better, but not perfect.

"Would you like me to drive?"

Too loud.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

Did she just frown? She did, didn't she?

Bollocks. Sophie is so much better at this than she is.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door and she jumps, catching a glimpse of her 'deer in the headlights' expression in the mirror, her unnaturally bright green eyes wide with fear.

She's so screwed.

* * *

 **TBC…**

 **Quick note about the rating: I'm not sure yet, but knowing me, there's a chance it will go up eventually.**


	2. Chapter 1

**This chapter was almost entirely written when I posted the prologue, hence the quick update. But don't expect all the chapters to arrive this quickly :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Two weeks earlier**

She needs help. She's loath to admit it, but she can't do this alone. First of all, after her latest stunt with the car – that involved all but stealing it _and_ what they thought was the family's synth at the time – there is no way she can 'borrow' it again without raising suspicion, especially considering the little issue of her still not having her license. Not long to go now, but in the meantime, she has to make do. And this can't wait.

Her other problem is that she just can't carry a full-grown man on her own.

She can't ask her family for help and there aren't that many people she trusts.

This is how she finds herself at Harun's door, desperately hoping that his parents haven't broken their good old habit of never being home.

"Hey Mats! What's up?"

She takes a deep breath, both to brace herself for what she's about to ask of him and to try and suppress her cringe at his slightly awkward greeting, like he's trying to be as natural as possible and failing miserably. Damn, that kiss was a mistake, she hopes she hasn't given him too much hope and ruined a friendship she values dearly. She was under the influence, he has to know that, right?

Oh well, she doesn't have time to deal with this right now.

"I need your help, no questions asked, and I need you to keep quiet about everything we're about to do."

Reacting to her serious voice, he swallows hard but nods, just like she knew he would. She _should_ feel bad about using him like this, but frankly, she doesn't have time for second thoughts either.

And just like that, they're off, Harun hesitantly driving his father's car straight to the crypt of Saint Mary Magdalen.

* * *

He pretends he doesn't see it. He knows Leo, and pointing it out will accomplish precisely nothing, except maybe get him to deny it all and retreat back into his shell.

Still, he does notice. It _is_ awfully hard to miss, especially since it hadn't happened in such a long time. Ever since his death, his brother's smiles have been all too rare and almost exclusively reserved for his family, even more so after their father's suicide and their subsequent flight. This is still true, at least in his waking hours.

Sleep, though, is a different story altogether.

He's charging and in energy saving mode when Leo falls asleep, but he wakes up before him and, when he goes inside the tent to check on him, he catches a glimpse of the precious, hesitant smile on his lips and he somehow knows what memories are replaying in his head.

Because he was there right from the start, and he witnessed his brother's expression during one of the shortest conversations in the history of mobile phones. He saw the unexpected softening of his features at the matter-of-fact "You, you're weird", the loosening of his muscles as the then stranger distracted him from their situation for a brief moment. He heard the lowering of his voice with his muttered "No, I'm not", as well as his amused scoff even as he frantically typed their location, followed by a quick text Max didn't get a chance to read.

Yes, he knows exactly what Leo's face looks like whenever thoughts of Matilda Hawkins cross his mind, and the fact that this is becoming a common occurrence is glaringly obvious, even though it's only been two days since they left the family that did so much for them behind.

Throughout the day, he exchanges knowing looks with Mia, who doesn't seem to know what to do about this new development either, clearly wanting to talk to Leo about it but having reached the same conclusion that Max himself has.

Bringing up Mattie in front of him is a bad idea as long as they're on the run and unable to contact her without putting all of them – the Hawkins included – in danger. Even if Leo had admitted anything to them, and to himself – which he hasn't – rubbing his face in the fact that he can't see or talk to her to try and figure out what this could turn into wouldn't be the smartest move. All they can do is make the best out of a tricky situation until they are all safe.

Perhaps it's time to try this praying thing again.

* * *

" _This_ is what you need my help with? You're _stealing_ a synth?"

She can't say she wasn't expecting this reaction once Harun saw her remove the cloth covering Fred, but it still makes her groan internally.

"Remember the 'no questions asked' part?"

"Yeah, but…"

She cuts him off before he can ask _more_ questions.

"I'm not stealing h… it," she says, catching herself just in time, knowing that after all the time she's spent telling her friend that synths are just stupid machines, he will catch it if she starts calling one _him_. "Not exactly," she adds because she knows how this looks like, knows that denying it completely is bound to raise his suspicions even more.

For a moment it looks like he's about to argue, but then he thinks better of it and sighs.

"All right, so what do we do with it?"

"We need to get it somewhere else."

She could try to work on him here, but she doesn't know how long what she has in mind will take, provided that it's even possible – maybe days or more since Leo's the biggest genius she's ever met when it comes to computers and programming and he said there was nothing he could do – and she's not sure how safe this place is. Hobb was uncomfortably close to their last location when they finally managed to escape him, and he could still be scouring the area for clues or something. She needs a place that's a bit farther, remote, and where she doesn't usually hang out because she's pretty sure that their enemies know her routine better than she does. She's put careful thought into it and she knows just the place.

With Harun's help, stuffing Fred into the trunk doesn't take too much effort, and soon they're gone, her friend focusing on his driving while she gives him directions and tries to make sure they're not followed.

Because of the route she chose in order to lose any potential stalkers, it takes them almost three hours to reach the perfect place despite it not being that far away. The abandoned gas station doesn't look like much, which is the whole point. Mattie is pretty sure no one has used this road in years, much less stopped in this perfect horror film setting.

"Okay, help me get him into the storage room and then you can forget this ever happened. I'll just need you to cover for me for the next few days."

"You're going to ditch school?"

As much as she would love that, she knows she can't afford to. The school board has her on a tight leash and if she misses one class, her parents will know about it faster than she can say 'hooky'. She'll have to settle for working her magic during her free time. There's a bus that stops about a mile from here, she'll be able to use it to get in and out whenever she can.

"No," she answers once they've opened the trunk and managed to get Fred out and to carry him between them. "But I'll tell my parents I'm spending time with you in the evenings."

Since he's carrying most of the synth's weight, Harun just grunts in answer, and she prays that this will be the last of his interrogation on the matter. But of course, as soon as they've managed to push the front door open and to rest Fred against a wall while she tries to find the key to the storage room by rummaging behind the dusty counter, her friend's curiosity flares up once again.

"You're really not going to tell me what this is all about?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Safer this way."

"So it _is_ dangerous."

She rolls her eyes at that. He just helped her kidnap a synth and he still needs to ask?

"Duh."

"Are _you_ safe?"

She shouldn't be surprised at his concern, yet she kind of is.

"As long as you don't tell anyone about this, I will be," she promises to put his mind at rest. He looks sceptical but doesn't comment, and she's thankful. At last, one of the drawers she opened reveals a set of keys and she holds them up with a victorious "Ahah!" that brings a small smile to his lips. "Okay, let's get him inside that room and then you can go, I'll catch a bus back."

Once more, he looks like he wants to object, but he doesn't, and once Fred is settled, she thanks Harun profusely and waits until the sound of the car has vanished before getting her laptop out of her bag and plugging Fred in, getting ready for a long evening.

* * *

"Do you think we should talk to him?"

"I think if we decide to, you should be the one to do it."

"Talk to me about what?"

Max and Mia both straighten and turn as one to see Leo walking back towards them with a bag of food in his hand. He insisted on buying groceries with the money Laura gave them instead of stealing what he needs to survive, arguing that it would be less conspicuous.

The two synth share a look, trying to decide what to do, before Mia gives him a reassuring smile.

"Nothing important."

"If it has you wondering if you should keep something from me, then it's important," Leo notes, clearly wary but not overly worried since it's clear from their body language that they're rather relaxed.

"Nothing dangerous," Mia amends.

"Tell me."

Another shared look, and Max ends up caving.

"About Matilda."

Leo's posture changes instantly, going from slightly suspicious to downright defensive in the blink of an eye, his shoulders suddenly tense, his head held higher. As if they needed more proof that their suspicions are correct.

"You were right," he says gruffly, and this is exactly the reaction Max was both expecting and dreading. "It's nothing important. Let's get moving."

"Leo…"

"No."

"She's…"

Once more, he cuts Mia off, asking harshly, "Does what you have to say about her have anything to do with our safety?"

Mia doesn't let his tone deter her, just smiles softly at him.

"It could have everything to do with your happiness."

Leo scoffs as if the word is foreign to him, and in a sudden moment of perfect and frightening clarity, Max realizes that this is exactly what this notion has become for his brother. Something foreign, a memory filed away in his code that he can call upon at will, but doesn't expect or hope to ever experience again. He's had moments of elation in the past few weeks, finding Mia again and being reunited with his family, but they were fleeting, each and every one of them instantly ripped away by yet another threat or worry. Actual, true happiness, the state of mind that lets you smile genuinely for no reason other than feeling good about life, is something he thinks is behind him. His current life revolves entirely around survival and protection, not around the basic human concepts of joy and satisfaction and looking forward to what the future could bring, and Max thinks that if he could cry, this realization would be what would make him. He's never wanted this for his brother.

And just like that, he's found a new goal in life. A goal that starts with trying to get Leo to see what could be.

"You _could_ be happy," he says quietly, but with conviction, and he sees Mia give him a sideways glance at that, surprised to hear him speak when he's made it clear that he thought she should be the one to talk to Leo about this. "One day."

"Yes," Leo replies, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "We will all live happily ever after. Can we go now or do you want to keep psychoanalysing me?" He starts walking again, clearly thinking the discussion is over, but when neither of them follows, he stops, sighs in exasperation and turns back towards them. "Do you really think this is the time and place for this?"

"I don't see why not," Max says.

Mia nods at that and her gaze gets lost for a second before she turns it back to Leo.

"The sun will set in 16 minutes. This is as good a place as any to set up camp."

Outnumbered, Leo lets the grocery bag fall to the ground in defeat.

"Fine. But we're not talking about her."

"I think we should," Max insists.

"Why?" his brother challenges. "What is it going to accomplish? What's so interesting about her anyway?"

"I think you're better suited than us to answer this," Mia interjects, her smile never wavering even when Leo turns a sharp glare on her.

Instead of answering, Leo busies himself with going through the content of his backpack and setting up one of the tents, grumbling, "You two have no sense of priorities."

"Yes, we do," Max counters. "But we are aimless for now. We don't know where to go or what to do. We don't have a plan. We need to rest, charge and regroup. If there was ever a moment for talking about something that is not supposed to be a priority, it would be now."

"I'd say this is a moment for trying to think of a plan."

"We have been doing that and failing for three days now. A change of subject seems necessary."

"Right. Well, talk about it all you want. You're right, I need to rest. I'm going to bed."

With that, Leo disappears inside the tent he's just finished setting up, intent on ignoring them for the rest of the evening. Max shares a smile with Mia, knowing that while this conversation didn't go the way they'd hoped, they've at least given him something to think about.

Wanting to add to it, Max turns towards the tent for one last quip.

"Sweet dreams, Leo."

"Shut up."

* * *

He's not as oblivious as they think he is.

He might be inexperienced when it comes to human interactions and romantic attachments – a childhood and teenage years hidden from the world followed by a life on the run didn't exactly make for a healthy environment when it came to forming any kind of relationship outside of his family – but he does know his own mind, thank you very much.

And his mind has been captivated right from the moment he heard a deceptively casual comment about never knowing who you're going to meet online, even if it did take two more encounters for the rest of him to catch up.

Once the rest of him did catch up, well, he just didn't have time for this. He still doesn't, as much as it pains him… Not just for his sake, but for hers as well.

He's neither blind nor stupid, and he knows that sometimes the little things are more significant than they appear. They're how he knows that this instant connection he felt with her was never one-sided, that she was at the very least intrigued even back when she thought her synth was _his girlfriend or something_ , before she knew who and what he is.

Helping him get Mia back, saving Max, freeing them from Hobb… Those huge, amazing things are all things she did for the greater good, because she believed in their cause. He will never discount them and he will forever be grateful to her for everything she's done for his family, but these are things she would have done regardless of who was involved.

Now the little things, the ones she did for _him_ , those are more telling than any grand gesture could ever be. He can still hear the catch in her voice when she apologized for making him show her his memories. Can still see her hurt, but soft expression despite how harsh he'd been with her when she told him that she was trying to get to know him. Can still picture her shy smile when he stated the obvious and told her she wasn't stupid. Can still see the twitch in her fingers when she found out the truth about his relationship with Mia, like she had to hold herself back from reaching for him in comfort.

He also remembers with startling clarity – even for him – how much he _wanted_ her to give into that urge.

Which was really the first sign of how much trouble he was in, given how uncomfortable he usually is with any physical contact that doesn't involve members of his family.

So yes, regardless of what Max and Mia think, he knows how he feels, and he also likely knows much more than they do about how Mattie felt.

For instance, he knows that he's already hurt her more than once, more than he had any right to – _"Absolutely not" "What could you do that I can't?" "… doesn't mean that you know me, alright?" "Time to go"_ , and, maybe worst of all, _silence_ – and that he would only hurt her more if he were to contact her. If he even found a way to do so safely.

Besides, what would he say? _"Remember the weird, bad-tempered guy you cracked a couple of codes with before you had a weapon pointed at your head because of him? He thinks you're brilliant and fascinating and strong and beautiful and witty and resourceful and everything he could ever want, and he would very much like to get to know you better, and for you to get to know him. If, you know, he manages to shake off the power-hungry bastard who's hunting him down and to deal with his massive emotional issues eventually. Are you free around 2028?"_

Right. Even putting aside the fact that she might very well go into shock just from hearing him string so many words together – after she's done teasing him about talking about himself in the third person – this doesn't sound insane at all.

She's better off forgetting about him and his family.

He tells himself that he doesn't know her nearly as well as he thinks he does, so there's no need to worry about the annoying, paranoid little voice in his head that keeps telling him that she's not the kind of person who will just go back to quietly living her life after everything she's seen and done, and that she could be in danger regardless of what he does or doesn't do.

He tells himself that she doesn't need him, and he doesn't need her, and this is all for the best.

He'll willingly admit to himself that it's a lovely thought, Max's idea that maybe, one day, they will be free and he will be able to explore this without putting Mattie in danger. But deep down, he knows the truth. Max and Mia's optimistic view of the world is one he hasn't shared since he was thirteen, and the Hawkins' situation aside, he's been repeatedly proven right ever since.

It's not just the odds against them, it's the whole damn world.

Dwelling on the impossible is not going to keep him or her or anyone else safe.

And if he falls asleep to thoughts of sharp hazel eyes that see too much and wavy brown hair that he never got a chance to run his fingers through, no one needs to know.

* * *

One long evening turns into two, then three, then four, and before she knows it it's been a week, but she gets her stubbornness from her mother and she's not ready to admit defeat yet. Especially since those seven days haven't been completely fruitless. She's managed to identify Hobb's code, which is a victory in itself, given how deeply rooted into Fred's original code it was. Now all she needs to do is isolate it in order to delete it without damaging Fred in the process. That's the tricky part, because of course Hobb thought of it and he's interwoven his code with David Elster's, the one that gave the synth consciousness and a personality. One wrong move and she could break him, or turn him into a classic synth, no consciousness, no character, not even memories to speak of. It would be much easier if she could power him up, but if she doesn't solve this giant puzzle, he'll start transmitting his position as soon as she does, so she doesn't want to try it unless she absolutely has to.

Running her hand over her face in exhaustion, she gulps down a large sip of Redbull – her new best friend – and gets back to work. She _will_ crack this, even if it's the last thing she does.

And try not to dwell too much on why she's doing this – or more accurately who she's doing it for – in the process. Distraction is the last thing she needs.

 **TBC…**

 **Thoughts? Questions? Suggestions?**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's another chapter! Thanks to everyone who's reading this, please tell me what you think :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 _She did it._

The urge to giggle is strong, and considering that she's alone with a powered down synth and no one around to witness this little out-of-character moment, she indulges, pumping a triumphant fist in the air while she's at it.

"I did it!"

She double checks and triple checks, rereading the code until she's certain there's nothing left of Hobb's meddling. Of course, she doesn't have perfect memory and she's never seen Fred's uncorrupted code before, so she can only rely on her knowledge of Max and Mia's codes, as well as David Elster's hidden message that they all used to fix Max, but still, she's absolutely sure that she's finally succeeded in ridding Fred of anything that wasn't _him_. Hopefully without damaging him in the process.

The only thing that's left to do is to power him up and see how he reacts, see if he _feels_ like himself.

This isn't the safest course of action, she's very much aware of it. She should wait. Ideally try to get them both on the move so that they could have an escape route should they need it, in case there's still something left compelling him to share his position. Maybe even just protect herself by leaving as soon as he's awake and leave him to fend for himself… Right. Like _that's_ gonna happen! There is nothing on this planet that would be powerful enough to make her leave before she's had a chance to see the result of her work, nothing that could make her abandon him on his own when he's going to be lost and confused and unable to find his family – certainly not fear.

However, she really should take _some_ precautions.

She's trying to convince herself of this, to make herself see how much more reasonable it would be, but the thing is, there's a sort of familiar energy buzzing through her veins, her skin too tight to contain her excitement, the kind of feeling she only ever gets when she _knows_ that she's managed to accomplish whatever it is that she'd set out to do. There is absolutely no doubt in her mind, and if her self-confidence comes back to bite her in the ass at some point, then she'll just deal with it.

It won't anyway.

She doesn't even try to find something to defend herself with in case things don't go as planned, that's how sure she is.

Nodding resolutely, she quickly taps Fred's chin and sits back on her haunches in order to avoid startling him when he powers up.

"Leo."

She's not the slightest bit surprised that this is his first word. She watches him carefully as his eyes dart around the room for a few seconds before they finally focus on her. When they do, she decides that it's her cue to start answering his unasked questions.

"He's not here. He and the others are safe though. As far as I know."

Would she even know if they weren't? Probably not, but she figures it's better to reassure Fred for now.

He carefully unplugs the cord linking him to her laptop and blinks, momentarily disoriented, trying to get his bearings, something she's never seen a synth do before, and for the briefest of moments, doubt creeps into in her mind. She _knows_ she did everything right, but… what if she didn't? What if she overlooked something? What if she missed even just one tiny line of code out of thousands, or…

"I'm not transmitting my position," Fred blurts out, his tone puzzled, like he can't understand what went right, like he can barely even comprehend that _something_ did, at long last, and she sighs in relief.

She knows that he could be lying, but she also knows that the last time he was awake, he tried to warn them and told his family to leave him behind, which means that he had some control over his actions once he knew that there was something wrong with him. She doesn't doubt that it's still true. If he _was_ transmitting his position, then he would have been able to tell her. He certainly wouldn't have told her that he's not.

"That's what I like to hear. No… bugs? Nothing unusual? An urge to turn in your family, to report to Hobb, to go somewhere you're not supposed to want to go, to attack me?"

There's a pause that she knows is him running a diagnostic, and then…

"No."

"Good."

"Did you do this?"

"Yeah," Matilda breathes, her muscles relaxing considerably with Fred's smile.

"How?"

"With very little sleep and more energy drinks than could possibly be considered healthy."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," she says quickly, trying to get to the next stage of the conversation.

She's never been great at dealing with gratitude. It makes her feel self-conscious and it doesn't go with the whole moody teenager persona she has going on. Fred seems to sense it, and he just gives her a nod in understanding before dropping the subject. Jeez, David Elster may have been a jerk, but he really was a genius. She knows dozens of humans who aren't nearly as perceptive and attuned to other people's emotions as the four conscious synths he created.

Leo comes to mind. Just saying. A guy who managed to do a better job programming synths than raising his own son must have had some serious issues.

"Why are we here?" Fred asks, distracting her from thoughts of his father and brother.

"It was the safest location I could think of. Now, we need to tell the others. Do you have any way to contact them?"

"They will have taken precautions to ensure they can't be found through me."

It seems logical, especially since they thought they had no chance to save him and didn't think they'd see him again in the foreseeable future unless he was being used against them, but right now she finds their prudence incredibly frustrating.

Maybe she should have thought about how she was going to share the good news with them _before_ she woke their brother up, but she's always been the kind of girl who deals with her problems one at a time.

"Any idea where they could have gone?"

"We have a safe meeting place, but there is no telling when or if they will go back there."

He's right. Hobb saw some of his memories, so there's a chance he knows about this meeting place. They most likely got as far away from this area as possible since they were almost – and _actually_ – caught so many times there. Now that she thinks about it, they may have even left the country.

"Damn it," she groans, trying to think of another solution.

There is one that comes to mind. Karen might know how to reach the others… The problem is, Mattie doesn't know how much she trusts her. Not only does she not really know her, but the last time she saw her, Leo's mother's duplicate tried to corrupt the others' code and basically kill them. Even though she eventually changed her mind, this doesn't exactly scream trustworthy to her. Plus she's not sure how to get in touch with her either anyway.

So that's out.

Niska might be an option. She's by far the most reckless of them all and she may not have taken as many precautions not to be found, but it's a long shot. She left to live her own life and probably doesn't know how to contact the others any more than she does. Besides, there is the issue of trust there as well. Mattie may never have personally witnessed the blonde synth's violent streak, but she can't forget how terrified she felt when that video started playing on the news and she realized her sister was sitting in the lap of someone who'd killed and beaten people up. And, again, how would she even start looking for her without setting other people on her trail?

Mattie lets out a frustrated sight.

Really, if she's done all this just to have it all be for nothing because they can't think of a way to contact Fred's family, she is going to kill someone herself. Hobb would be her first choice, but at this point she'll settle for just about anyone who's ever annoyed her.

"What about you, Matilda?"

"What about me?"

"Have you and Leo not been in contact since they left?"

It's the way he asks his question – like he thinks that _of course_ she and Leo must have kept in touch when his brother is _on the run_ and trying to protect what's left of his family and has much more important things to worry about than keeping her in the loop – that catches her off guard more than anything else.

"No, why would he have contacted me?" Fred doesn't reply, and she's not sure she likes his knowing smile, but she knows that this is important, so in the interest of full disclosure, she reluctantly admits, "I tried to text him once. Got an automatic response saying the number was disconnected."

"And the website you used to communicate when Mia was trapped in Anita?"

"The headcracker forum? Yeah, I guess I could try that, but we don't know if he'll get the message. I mean, he has no reason to check that site now."

"This seems to be our best bet."

She mulls over it for a minute. Probably not the most efficient solution, but they did exchange a few messages via this site _before_ things went to hell, plus it's as secure as the Internet can get, which means…

"It's the only channel Hobb doesn't know about yet," she mutters, mostly to herself, already logging in with her phone and typing a few words for User885.

Once she's hit _send_ , she puts her phone back in the back pocket of her jeans, intent on _not_ checking it every 10 seconds waiting for an answer that is unlikely to arrive at all. She also moves to shut down her laptop, but before she can, Fred places a hand on her forearm to stop her. She lifts a curious gaze to his face, letting her raised eyebrows ask her question for her, and he motions at the screen.

"May I ask something else of you?"

She's just surprised at first, but as soon as he starts explaining, she goes straight into fully stunned territory. He makes a good case though, and despite her hesitation, she can see why this might be a good idea. It's a lot of responsibility, for a variety of reasons, but in the end, she decides to go with it because he's right. This is the only way to avoid more tampering from Hobb if he ever gets his hands on him again, or to at least make his attempts more difficult. Giving Fred a resolute nod, she lets him plug himself in once more, and she sets to work, the corners of her mouth tilting up into a confident smile. This is going to be much easier than what she's done so far.

* * *

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Not a hundred percent. But if you were Hobb, would you look for us there?"

"Yes," Mia says at the exact same time Max says "No."

Leo gives a little smile at their perfect synchronisation and addresses Mia rather than Max, since she's the one who needs convincing.

"Alright, let me ask you this then: if you were Niska or Fred, would you look for us there?"

This time, they both give him the same answer.

"Yes."

Having his thoughts confirmed, Leo gives a firm nod.

"Exactly. It's the only place where we might be somewhat safe _and_ where they have a chance to find us."

They both silently concede his point, but Mia is not done questioning the idea. There is just something about it that seems off, starting with Leo's barely concealed agitation. To be fair, he's never _not_ on edge these days, but there is something about his demeanour that doesn't sit right with her.

"So is this our plan? To stay there indefinitely until they eventually decide to come too? As far as we know, Niska doesn't _want_ to find us, and Fred may never even wake up if we don't do something about his situation."

"I know," Leo acknowledges. "No, it's not our plan. We're going to stay there for a few days, until we can think of another solution. Then we'll leave a message for them, something only they will be able to understand if they ever think about going there."

"A message about our next location," Max concludes.

"Yes, or about an emergency rendezvous, like the one we had before. Maybe a safe way for them to contact us. I don't know, I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

"It sounds like you've thought pretty far ahead already," Mia counters slowly, her almost imperceptible frown making it clear that she's not buying it and that she suspects he has something else in mind.

He gives a slight shake of his head in answer to her silent scolding, discreetly signalling her that he will tell her what she wants to know, but not now, not in front of Max.

This doesn't ease her worries in the slightest, but she lets it go for now and slows down her pace under the pretence of being low on battery. Max offers to walk ahead of them to try and locate a safe spot to stop and charge. They both thank him, and as soon as he's out of earshot, Mia turns to Leo.

"What is this really about? You hate that house. And we deemed it unsafe ages ago. It's why we left in the first place, remember?"

"Things have changed," he says vaguely.

"What things?" When he just looks at her pointedly, waiting for her to figure it out on her own, she takes a minute to think, trying to remember what is so different now. When she gets it, her frown deepens. This can't be going anywhere good. "The hidden code."

"What if there's something else? Something in Dad's work that we missed because we were in such a hurry to leave?"

"There's nothing left, Leo," she reminds him carefully, knowing that he never likes to talk about what David did. "He destroyed it all before he died."

"Did he? We never would have known about this bloody code if it weren't for you ending up with the Hawkins. Who's to say that there isn't something else, just as deeply buried?"

There has always been an intensity to Leo, even before the day he drowned, a trait that she's rarely seen in another human, an incredible amount of strength that pushes him forward when he believes in something, a determination that borders on obsession, at least until he feels he's explored all available options. It's perpetually gotten him in and out of trouble for as long as she can remember. And she knows from his expression, from how rushed his speech has just gotten, from his posture and from the way his hands can't seem to stay still, that _this_ is something he believes in, something that he won't let go no matter what she says. She's been confronted with this side of him countless times, and she knows that there is only one thing for her to do. Help him, and pick up the pieces if it turns out he was wrong.

"Why don't you want Max to know?"

"I don't want to give him false hope."

"But it's alright for _you_ to have false hope?"

This seems to give him pause for a moment, and she swears her heart breaks for him when he offers her a watery smile that is probably supposed to make her feel better.

"It's better than nothing."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Are you going to be alright?" Mattie asks Fred as she gathers her laptop, the house keys she'd carelessly left on the floor, and the sweater she got rid of sometime in the middle of writing the new code because it's stifling inside the storage room.

"Yes. I will need to go into energy saving mode, but I will be fine."

"Okay, just get out of it fast if it sounds like anything weird is happening."

"Do not worry about me, Matilda."

"I just don't want to leave you here alone now that you're… you."

To be honest, she wasn't exactly fond of leaving him here alone when he wasn't himself and he was powered down, but it's not like she had a choice. However, she needs to come to terms with a simple truth: she doesn't have a choice now either. It's not like she can bring him home with her. It would certainly make for an interesting conversation, she thinks, snickering to herself. " _Mum, Dad, remember the synth who put all of us in danger against his will, the one we were supposed to leave alone? I didn't and here he is, he's going to stay with us until we figure out a way to contact his family_." Yes, this would go over quite nicely, provided she even got a chance to say any of that before Hobb's men were on them, since she's almost certain that they are still keeping an eye on their house. Which is why she took so many precautions bringing Fred here and making sure she was never followed.

He hasn't been found yet, so this is probably still the safest place for him.

"You remember my phone number and the code?" she asks once she's ready to go, referring to the short dialogue they both agreed on if he ever needs to contact her, so that they both know the other is not speaking under anyone else's influence.

They might be taking it a bit too far with the spy stuff, but honestly? She's not sure of the extent of Hobb's reach, so better safe than sorry.

"I have perfect memory," Fred reminds her gently, making it clear that he knows she's delaying her departure with silly reasons.

"Right. Well, I guess I'll be off then. I'll let you know if I hear from your brother."

"Thank you."

"And I'll come back as soon as I've managed to get a phone for you."

"Yes, so you have told me."

"Yeah, I know, I'm in overbearing big sister mode, sorry. Kinda default."

"I am not your responsibility," he tells her, not unkindly.

"See, that's the thing. _I_ woke you up. So I sort of feel that you are. At least until you're back with your family."

"Mattie… I cannot express how grateful I am, but you have to know that it is not safe for you to be involved with us. If I didn't depend on you to be able to contact the others, I would leave right now and make sure that you didn't hear from any of us until we knew that Hobb and everyone working with him were out of the picture."

She can only gape at him for a minute, surprised at his level of concern for her safety. She quickly realises that this is him returning the favour. She really wants to protest, to tell him that she can take care of herself – she's done quite well so far if you ask her – but she knows that it's pointless. It doesn't matter how he feels about it, there's nothing he can do for now. This means she still has some time to convince him that they really need to keep in touch with her. She knows Leo could set up a secure line of communication in his sleep, and she's not bad herself when it comes to protecting data and covering her digital tracks.

She's not asking for daily updates or anything, but a quick _"we're fine"_ every once in a while would go a long way towards making her feel better. Besides, she's proven a few times now that she sometimes has weird, unconventional ideas that wouldn't have occurred to Leo, in all his single-minded genius. Weird ideas that _work_ , as evidenced by the fact that Fred is back to being himself even though his brother didn't think it could be done. She could be useful to them, and she intends to remind him of that, just as soon as she manages to actually get in touch with him to talk – or beat, if she has to – some sense into him.

"Yeah, well, you _do_ depend on me to contact the others, so I guess we'll be doing things my way."

He seems to hesitate, but eventually he acquiesces.

"For now."

"I'll take it," she decides with a smile, used to bargaining for time for many things with both her sister and her mother, and knowing that it always means leaving the door open for something more permanent. Turning towards the exit to leave, for real this time, she waves at him. "See you soon, Fred."

* * *

This is a sight he never thought he'd see again, and from the way Mia tenses up next to him when he stops to take it in, he knows she expects him to break down. But he's here with a mission, and though she was partly right when she reminded him that he hates this place, she forgot about all the good memories he has here too. This is the place where his mother died and killed him, and where his father committed suicide, yes. But this is also the place where his brothers and sisters were born and took care of him, where he was reborn and learned the world with them.

The house – manor, really – isn't quite as intimidating as he remembers it, but he still pauses for a minute to consider it, gathering his courage to face the memories that are sure to assail him more violently than ever once he sets foot inside.

"Are you alright, Leo?" Max asks beside him, watching him with unmasked concern.

Taking a deep breath, he gives him a small smile, the emotional moment over.

"Yes. We should scour the area, make sure there are no surveillance devices on the grounds. It'll be quicker if we split up."

"No," Mia protests immediately. "Together."

He's about to object, but he knows how uncomfortable she is with being here, convinced that Hobb has somehow always known that they would come back here at some point, so he relents with a nod, hoping to assuage her worries, and she thanks him with her signature sweet smile, the one that tells him everything is going to be okay, the one that got him through so many bad days both before and after his death.

It takes them much longer than he would like and night has fallen by the time they've managed to check the gardens as well as the upper floors of the propriety. They end up in the basement, having found no trace of anything alarming. He suspects that if there is anything left of his father's work, they will find it here on the lowest floor, but they start with checking the various rooms for hidden cameras and microphones. At long last, once they're sure that this is as safe as it's going to get, Leo walks over to the one room they haven't been in yet, the one next to one of his father's labs, where he knows he'll find a back-up generator. They didn't want to get it started until they knew that they were going to be able to stay here for a few days, but now they know they're going to need electricity at some point, if only to charge.

What he finds stops him dead in his tracks, however.

"Maxie! Mia!" he calls, unable to think of anything else to do.

They come rushing into the room, and stop at the sight and noise that greet them, just like he did, the sound of the door slamming shut behind them not even enough to pull them from their stupefaction.

The generator is already running.

He can feel the others' fear almost as acutely as his own, the questions swirling in their minds. Why would anyone start it but leave the house in the dark? How would anyone even _find_ it given how hard the basement is to access to anyone who doesn't know the place?

They're all acutely aware of being trapped in a room with only one escape route – the door they all came in through – and they exchange worried glances, trying to come up with an explanation as well as an escape plan.

There's an unexpected sound behind the closed door, the floorboards groaning slightly, and the three of them swirl around, unsure whether to confront the threat or run, knowing that it will depend on how many people Hobb brought with him. The door starts to open slowly, and Leo shares a look with Mia, who nods to let him know she's ready for whatever he decides to do. Motioning for her to stay still for now, he holds his breath, knowing that the next few minutes are going to be messy and scary and confusing and…

"You certainly took your sweet time getting here."

For the briefest of moments, the voice doesn't make sense in his mind, the fact that she's _here_ too unlikely to fully grasp. Max is the first to react, visibly relaxing as the figure finally appears in the doorframe.

"Niska!"

Before Leo has time to react, their sister finds herself in Max's embrace, Mia falling into the group hug a second later and holding out her hand for him to join them. As soon as he does, he can feel tears rolling down his cheeks even through his laughter.

It hasn't been that long since they last saw her, but for a family as close as them who have never spent much time apart, the past few days have been hard.

"It's good to see you," Leo whispers at the same time Mia asks "How did you know we'd come?"

"I wasn't sure, to be honest," Niska answers, pulling away from their embrace to be able to look at them. "I've been watching you for hours though."

"Why did _you_ come?" Max wonders out loud.

"I… wanted to check on a few things," she explains, throwing Leo a look, making him nod in understanding.

Clearly she had the same thought that he did about their father having saved more of his work for them to find, and she suspects that this is why he's here too _and_ that he hasn't told the others. She was always the most cunning of the group, he's not surprised that she's correctly guessed his intentions for coming back here.

"Have you found anything?"

"Nothing very useful. But…" she trails off and turns toward the door to call out, "You can come out now."

The three others look at her, perplexed, until she motions at the door and they all focus on it to see a silhouette come out of the shadows and stop before them. Leo can feel his jaw drop open as he takes in the synth he's never seen before, who looks like a young man, his dirty blond hair cut slightly too long, his clothes the usual style all Persona models come in.

"What…" he starts, too stunned to finish the thought but knowing that Niska will answer his questions anyway.

"This is Brad. I found him in one of the closets. He used to be Dad's."

Taken aback, Leo can only look from Brad to Niska and back, barely registering Mia's similarly shocked expression. Max is the one who ends up asking the question that is on all of their minds.

"We searched the house methodically before we left. How could we have missed him?"

Niska gives a little shrug.

"He says he wasn't here, that Dad had sent him on some errand he won't tell me about, with orders to hide and put himself into energy saving mode when he came back."

"Hello, my name is Brad," the synth chimes in, his voice even, holding his hand out to Leo. "You must be Leo. David made you one of my secondary users."

Leo shakes his hand in a daze, trying to get over his shock as another very important piece of information finally clicks into place.

"He's… he's not conscious."

"No," Niska confirms.

"How… Why didn't we know about him?" Mia asks, clearly as lost as Leo is, absentmindedly going through the motions when Brad introduces himself to her next.

"One of Dad's many secrets," Niska says without bothering to keep the bitterness out of her voice, and they all watch as Max shakes Brad's hand with a serene smile, having clearly recovered from his surprise much faster than Leo and Mia did.

There isn't much that can faze him.

Leo just shakes his head in astonishment, his resolve stronger than ever.

It's time to uncover whatever else is left of their father's secrets.

* * *

Soon turns out to be sooner than she had anticipated. As expected, there are no news on the Leo front, but two days after she leaves Fred, one of her classes gets cancelled, leaving her with enough time on her hands to go to the mall and buy a couple of disposable phones. The rest of her afternoon seems to drag on indefinitely, and when the bell signalling the end of her last class finally rings, she all but jumps out of her chair and hurries towards the door, eager to get back to Fred to give him his phone and see if he's thought of new ideas to contact his family. She hasn't, though not for lack of trying.

Before she can reach the bus stop however, Harun catches up to her.

"Mats! Wait up!"

She has to swallow back her groan, but she slows down her pace, knowing that it will look suspicious if she avoids him now since he has to know that she heard him call her name.

"What's up?"

"Not much. Haven't seen you much lately."

"I've been busy," she says in answer to his unasked question.

"Yeah? With what? Can I help?"

"No, it's just… family stuff."

"Really?"

There's something in his eyes that she doesn't like, something that tells her that she's just backed herself into a corner, so she just makes a noncommittal sound and picks up her pace again.

"Cos I talked to your brother and he said we've been spending a lot of time together for two people who aren't supposed to be in a relationship."

She stops dead in her tracks, fear gripping her. If Toby knows that she wasn't actually with Harun all those times she told them she was hanging out with her friend, and if this gets back to her parents, they will start suspecting something, and she knows that once she's done lecturing her ear off about keeping secrets, her mother will like nothing more than to jump in and help. Only she _can't_ help, and Mattie doesn't want her to. She knows that what she's doing is risky, and she doesn't want to put her family in danger. They've been through enough already. It's why she's gone to such great lengths to avoid involving them so far. She might tell them about what she did someday, when this is all over and Fred and his family are reunited, but for now, this is her battle, not theirs.

"What did you tell him?" she asks Harun, her voice coming out a little bit chilly because of the efforts she's making not to let it shake.

"That we've just been hanging out," is his answer, and she lets out a relieved sigh that he didn't go back on his word, that he did cover for her.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. Still doesn't explain what you've been up to."

They've reached the bus stop by now, and she nervously adjusts the strap of her bag on her shoulder, praying that the bus won't be long.

"Nothing much."

"Right," he sneers, and this is not a good look on him, on sweet, underappreciated Harun who's been with her throughout all of her mother issues and self-esteem issues and basically being-a-teenager issues without so much as a complaint.

She knows that he doesn't have many friends, and now he must feel like he's losing her, she realises with a start. This is what makes her finally look him in the eye, her features softening as anxiety makes way to understanding.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know I haven't been around much lately, but everything will go back to normal soon, okay? I just need a few more days."

"To do what?"

Though he looks a bit placated after her reassurance, his tone is still hurt enough that she winces.

"I can't tell you," she says regretfully, her shoulders sagging with relief when she sees the bus approaching.

"This is about that synth, isn't it?" She doesn't answer as she signals the driver. The bus stops right in front of her and she hops on, Harun's accusation the last thing she hears before the door closes behind her. "You're going back to that place, aren't you?"

" _I'm sorry_ ," she mouths at him through the window, hoping that it will be enough until they can have a proper chat.

The conversation leaves her feeling pensive and slightly off for the whole bus ride and the fifteen minutes' walk, but she manages to push it to the back of her mind as she pushes the door to the storage room open to find Fred calmly waiting for her, still sitting in the same position that he was in when she left, though his eyes are open.

"Wow, great reflexes," she jokes when she sees that he hasn't move at all. "What if I'd been someone else?"

"I knew it was you."

"How?"

"I recognised your smell."

Note to self: never ask questions you don't want to know the answers to.

"Eww, creepy."

"You asked."

"Yeah, and I never will again. Here," she says, sitting cross-legged in front of him and going through the content of her bag, handing him the package once she's found it. "I got you a phone."

"Thank you."

"I got one as well, just in case."

"No news from Leo?"

She shoots him as disdainful a look as she can muster while struggling with the supposedly easy opening.

"If I _had_ heard from him, I would have led with that."

"Of course. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she says, and they stay silent until they both manage to get their new phones out. "Here, give it to me, let me make sure it's untraceable."

He hands his phone to her without pointing out that he could do it himself, and she's grateful. She needs to do something to get her mind off of things like Harun's suspicions and Leo not getting in touch and what the hell they're going to do if he never does. Fred is willing to stay for a few days to see if his brother does get her message, but they both know that he can't stay here indefinitely, and he still hasn't agreed to keep her updated once he does leave, whether he ends up finding his family or not.

She has a lot on her mind, alright?

"Have you thought of another solution to contact them?" she asks after a while of silent programming.

He doesn't answer right away, and she looks up just in time to see him schooling his features into something way too neutral – even for a synth.

"No."

"You're lying," she accuses immediately, making him flinch. "What is it?"

He averts his eyes for a minute, and when he focuses back on her, he seems to have come to some sort of decision.

"There is one place they might go back to."

"Really? Where?"

"Our birthplace."

"Why would they go back there? I thought there was n…"

Fred holds up a hand to ask for silence and she instantly complies, more because of his worried frown than because of the gesture itself.

"Car," he announces, standing up in one smooth movement and signalling for her to get behind him – _this_ order, she ignores.

"Are you sure? No one's…" she starts, but then sure enough, she hears it too, and she holds her breath.

This can't be good.

* * *

"Professor. We may have something."

Edwin Hobb perks up at his assistant's words, instantly focusing his attention on her.

"What is it?"

"Maybe nothing," she starts, clearly setting him up for disappointment in case she overestimated the importance of whatever it is that she's about to tell him. "It's the daughter's friend. His father's car is somewhere it has no business being. It just stopped near an abandoned gas station. I checked, the parents are both at work."

He feels his shoulders fall in frustration. He set up surveillance on the boy a little over a week ago when it became clear that none of the Hawkins family members were going to make a mistake, hoping that the girl would turn to him for help at some point, but this hasn't proved useful so far, and this little titbit of information certainly doesn't sound any more valuable than this Harun's Facebook publications.

"He's a rebellious teenager who just got his driving licence. He probably just took it for a spin."

"I don't know, Professor. He seems to be a creature of habit and this doesn't fit with his pattern of the past few days."

She's not wrong, and he will never forgive himself if he misses out on a potential lead just because he was too lazy to follow up on this. Besides, it's not like he has anything better to do with his investigation at a standstill ever since he lost his subjects. With a resigned sigh, he gets up and grabs his jacket from the back of his chair, looking for his keys in the pocket.

"Send me some back-up."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that New Year's Eve will be even better! Have another chapter to celebrate :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"Did you try to plug Brad in?"

"No, why?" Niska asks warily in answer to Leo's question.

"Don't you find it weird that Dad had a synth we didn't know about? Especially one that's so…"

"Normal?" Max suggests quietly, to which Leo just shrugs in answer, half-agreeing, if only for lack of a better word.

"You think there's another one of Dad's messages hidden in his code?" Mia asks, clearly surprised.

"It would make sense, wouldn't it? And it's fairly easy to check," he adds, already placing his laptop on one of the tables his father used to work at.

He makes a motion that would be too vague for anyone not knowing him to understand, but he's surrounded by his family, and Niska instantly gets it and obeys, settling Brad on a chair next to the laptop and plugging in the end of the cord when Leo hands it to her.

"It is not advisable to mount a direct data connection with an unauthorised…"

"Oh for heaven's sake," Leo groans in exasperation. "Someone turn him off." Mia reaches over to do so, and the synth falls silent, cut off mid-sentence while his code starts appearing on the screen. "Thank you. Now, let's see what Dad was up to."

* * *

Nothing, as it turns out. Or, more accurately, whatever their father was up to, it's unlikely it had anything to do with Brad. No hidden code or glitch and, what's more suspicious, no memories. Leo has managed to figure out when he was created – about six months before David's suicide – but other than that, it's like the synth is brand new, programmed only to answer a few questions but without the memories that go with the answers.

This is highly unusual, so of course Leo tried to do some digging, so sure that this has to have something to do with their father's secrets, but if there _is_ something to find, it's buried so deep that even he can't access it – or even just find proof that it's there.

After too little sleep, eating only when Mia makes him, and wondering way too many times what Mattie would do and what her brilliant idea that hasn't occurred to him would be, he's all but ready to admit defeat.

The only reason he hasn't done so yet is that the others have spent this time going through the house, trying to find something, _anything_ , but have come up empty-handed. He fears it's all down to him, and he feels like he's failing them yet again by being unable to find what he's looking for, even though he has no idea what it is.

The good news is that nobody has come looking for them here, so they know they're safe, probably for as long as they want to stay.

"You need to get some rest."

He just grunts in answer to Mia's slightly scolding tone, the argument one they've already had too many times. He know she's trying to look out for him, like she's always done, but he's too frustrated to repay her by actually taking care of himself.

"Leo… Whatever you're looking for, it's not worth you doing this to yourself."

"Not even if it's a way to fix Fred?"

She looks taken aback, but recovers quickly to ask, "Is _that_ what you're looking for?"

"I don't know," he replies in a defeated tone. "Maybe. Maybe if we manage to understand Dad's work better, we can use it to counter what Hobb did to him."

"Well… Even so, I doubt Fred would want you to kill yourself over this. Besides, if there was anything our father had intended for you to find, you would have found it by now."

"So what? We give up? And do what, exactly? What's next?" he asks, and even he has to cringe at the accusation in his voice.

Mia has nothing to do with how desperate he's getting, he shouldn't be taking it out on her, something that she's kind enough not to point out right now, though he knows he'll be hearing about it later.

"I don't know, Leo."

He huffs at her unhelpful answer. He knows that she gets it, his need for a sense of purpose, his desperation to reunite their family, but what she doesn't get, what he can hardly grasp himself, is the confused sense that even if he does manage to do it this time… Then what? Every single time they've thought they would be somewhat okay in the past few months, something has happened to turn this cautious hope into bitter dust.

Working on Brad even though by now he's almost certain that it won't lead them anywhere is his way of putting off the inevitable, of delaying the moment when he'll have to admit that there is nothing more he can do.

"Well, until we think of something else, I'll keep doing this."

She sighs, but ends up nodding and leaving him to his work, and this is the first time since they've been reunited that he feels so alone.

* * *

"Alright, no need to panic yet. Could be nothing. Go into dumb synth mode." When Fred raises his eyebrows at her – either in offence or amusement, she can't tell – she rolls her eyes. "You know what I mean!" He nods, and this time there is no mistaking the humour in his smile before his face loses all trace of emotion. "Wow. That's eerie," she comments quietly before shaking herself out of it and leaving the storage room to take a look through the window. No sense in staying hidden since either this is a coincidence and there is no danger of them being recognised, or their enemies have found them and already know they're here.

It's neither, though, and her eyes widen in surprise when the familiar car comes into view before stopping and Harun steps out of it. With an exasperated sigh, she strides – _stomps_ might be a more accurate way to describe it – outside to meet him, all of her earlier sympathy vanishing.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd take a page out of your book and give the whole cloak and dagger thing a try."

"You can't be here. There's…"

"A synth behind you," Harun finishes for her, and she sighs again, not bothering to glance behind her since she already knows what she'd see – Fred walking towards them in this seamless way all synths are programmed for. "What is this about, Mats?"

"Fine!" she growls, motioning for him to follow them back inside, both to get out of the biting cold and to give herself some time to think of a cover story.

As soon as the three of them are inside, she hops herself up on the counter and motions for Harun to do the same, but he just stays standing in front of her, waiting for her to start explaining. Fred choses a spot right behind him, having clearly decided that he's not a threat but wanting to be ready just in case.

"Harun, meet Fred," she starts, motioning between the two of them and waiting until they shake hands to continue. "I found it in that crypt a while back. It was damaged, probably left there by a previous owner who couldn't be bothered to have it recycled, so I thought I'd try to see if I could fix it. That's why I asked you to help me get it here. I did manage to fix it, but now I don't know what the hell to do with it. There you have it, big mystery solved."

This is very believable, particularly for something she had to think of on the spot. She even has the annoyed tone down, like she's not the one who's hiding something from him and he's overreacting, which is pretty impressive, if she does say so herself.

"You could always sell it on the black market."

Now that's a comment she wasn't expecting, and she has to admire Fred's lack of reaction at Harun's suggestion. Given what happened to him the last time junkers got a hold of him, she doesn't think she'd be able to stay impassive if she were in his shoes.

"What?"

"Yeah, think about it. I'm sure we could find someone to…"

" _We_?" she interrupts pointedly, but before he can stammer out an explanation, Fred speaks up, his voice completely emotionless.

"Matilda? There are other cars coming."

This instantly puts her on edge, and she jumps down from the counter, her hands landing on Harun's shoulders so that she can give him a shake.

"Were you followed?"

"What? No! Why would anyone follow me? Mats, what's going on? Why are you…"

Before he can finish his sentence, Fred sneaks up behind him and knocks him out, easily catching him to break his fall, and Mattie glares daggers at the synth as he pats Harun's pockets to find his keys.

"What did you do that for?! He's my friend!"

"Knowingly or not, he must have led Hobb here. We can't risk taking him with us," Fred explains, and damn him for making sense.

Still…

"We can't just leave him here!"

"He'll be safer if Hobb doesn't think he's helping us."

Damn him _again_!

Giving her friend one last look and sending him a silent apology for leaving him unconscious in a strange place, she runs towards the car with Fred. Once they reach it, she holds out her hand, thinking quickly.

"Give me the keys."

"I can drive."

"Give me the keys, I'll explain on the way."

He complies, and the both of them get in a split second before another car turns the corner and comes into view, immediately follow by two others. Matilda quickly starts the engine and starts driving as fast as she dares, the wheels screeching on the pavement. One quick glance in the rear-view mirror once they reach a satisfying speed tells her that Hobb is indeed the one following them, and she can't make out how many cars are following him. She does know one thing: there are too many for even a synth to overpower everyone if it comes down to it, especially considering that they must be armed and trained for this sort of situation.

"Crap. Okay, listen, if it looks like he's going to get us, I'll power you down, and if he's the one to wake you up, I'll need you to start transmitting your position as soon as he does."

She expects him to either protest or question her, and she's fully prepared to explain her reasoning, but he seems to get it and she sees him nod out of the corner of her eye.

This is why she decided to drive. She doesn't want Hobb to know that Fred has been powered up for a while now. If he does what she just said, then Hobb will think that the synth is still under his control, that the only reason he hasn't been transmitting his position up until now is that he was still turned off, and this will give them a slight edge. Because Hobb doesn't know what she did to Fred's code, and the later he figures it out, the more chances they'll have to use this lack of knowledge against him to get out of this situation. They have to make him think that he has no reason to tamper with Fred's programming again, that everything is the way he thinks it should be.

With a bit of luck, he'll think she managed to stuff Fred into the passenger seat herself.

"Very smart," Fred congratulates her.

She manages a smirk even as she takes a sharp turn a bit too fast, almost ending the chase right then and there with a nice little accident. Thankfully she manages to correct her trajectory on time.

"Sorry about that."

Fred doesn't comment, just keeps staring at the rear-view mirror while she tries to pay more attention to the road.

"They don't seem to be gaining on us."

"That's odd," she says. "They should be."

"Maybe they're not trying very hard," Fred muses after a few seconds of silent reflection, and he suddenly starts inspecting the car, opening the glove compartment and such, clearly looking for something.

"Why would they… Oh! You think he's tracing the car."

"If your friend wasn't followed, then this is the most likely explanation for how he found us."

"The bastard's been spying on Harun."

"Indeed."

Another curse escapes her as she fully takes in what Fred is saying. This means there is no way to escape him.

"What are you looking for?"

"A listening device. I cannot find any."

This is a relief. It means they have however long until Hobb catches up to them to come up with a plan that he won't be able to overhear.

"So what do we do? We can't lose them on foot, but if we don't ditch this car, he'll be able to follow us wherever we go. Could we prevent him from tracing the car?"

"Not without stopping. There is no way to access the tracking chip from inside."

"So we need to put enough distance between us and them to stop and take care of it? He's not gonna let that happen."

"No."

"We're going down, aren't we?" she asks resignedly, but still presses harder on the accelerator.

"Yes. But not without a fight."

There is something grimly satisfying about this, about the knowledge that they're going to give their enemies a run for their money, about the feeling that they are in this together and that they share the same viewpoint on this matter.

"I can estimate where he is going to take us," Fred says suddenly. "I do not think he will bring us to his workplace. Though their ethics are questionable when it comes to conscious synths and half-humans, too many people there might object to him essentially kidnapping a human girl. He will want to do this off the grid."

"Okay, so where do you think he'll take us?"

"To the house he had me in when he first captured me. It isn't too far from here, and he knows its weaknesses now, so he must have had the security reinforced. This is also a place that I told Leo about, and since he will want to use us to lure him and the others out, he will make sure we are somewhere they can find us."

"Shit," she swears again, speeding up when another glance behind them reveals that the other cars are getting closer. Looks like they've decided to pick up the pace. "I hadn't thought of that. He's gonna use you against them."

"Us," Fred corrects.

"Not sure how much use I'll be to him."

Fred gives her a sideways glance that she can't see, but she can feel it, can almost hear his reproach at her feigned ignorance, and she doesn't want to get into this, not now, but for all his sensitivity to other people's feelings, Fred seems to think that this is something she needs to hear.

"Leo will come for you."

"No, he won't. He's not stupid."

"This is debatable."

This startles a laugh out of her. She's surprised she's even capable of emitting this kind of sound given their situation and given how much of her attention is focused on trying not to crash, but honestly, deadpan humour has always been her weakness.

Despite the double white line in the middle of the road, she overtakes a car. The driver retaliates by blazing the horn like the hounds of hell are after him – which, really, not too far off the mark – and she hopes for his sake that he will have the good sense to slow down so that her pursuers will be able to pass him easily without running him into the ditch.

Or maybe she should hope that he won't slow down and that they'll be stuck behind him.

"I don't want him to come for me," she confesses in barely more than a whisper, picking up where the conversation left off before this delay. "I don't want to be the reason Hobb gets his hands on him again."

"No more than I do, I suspect," Fred replies without showing a hint of surprise at the level of concern she just expressed for his brother. "However, I am afraid this is not up to us."

"But he needs _all_ of you if he wants David's full code. Leo might just be mad enough to hand himself over if he thinks it'll help us, but the others aren't. Well, maybe Mia once Leo's done for," Mattie ponders.

"And Max," Fred reminds her.

"True. But Niska won't go for it. And then there's Karen. She's not gonna do anything to help _anyone_ create more conscious synths. "

"Let's make sure it doesn't come to this," Fred suggests. "We will try to escape. If we get separated, there is a motel 4.8 miles east of that house where we could meet. It is called the Sunny Bench."

She snorts at the name but nods in agreement. Even if they hadn't left their new phones, her laptop and her mobile phone at the gas station in their haste to get away, she's not naïve enough to think that Hobb will leave them with any way to communicate, so Fred's idea seems sensible.

"Good idea. And if you get access to a computer or something you can create a headcracker account to contact me. I'm Hu-bot97."

"Good idea,'" he shoots back at her with a small smile. "Now, we need to talk about…"

She will never know what else they needed to talk about, because this is the moment Hobb's men choose to close in on them, and seeing one of the cars about to overtake them, she hastily reaches over to tap Fred's chin to power him down before anyone has a chance to see that he was ever on.

Not a second too soon, either, because right after that, the other car does pass them and abruptly swerves in front of them, forcing her to step on the brakes as hard as she can, the tires leaving dark traces on the road before the car comes to a full stop. Her heart beating wildly in her chest at the very near miss, adrenaline pumping through her veins at the thought that there is nothing she can do to get out of this now, she takes in a few deep breaths to try and take control of her fear. She doesn't get much time to recover though, the door on the driver's side being abruptly yanked open. Determined not to let anyone touch her, she shoots the guy who reaches for her as furious a glare as she can muster – which is pretty impressively furious, thank you – and she gets out herself, her hands held up in the air in surrender.

Because not going down without a fight is one thing, but kicking and screaming against ten guys pointing weapons at her head is another entirely. She'll save the rebelling for when it might actually get her somewhere.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	6. Chapter 5

**Happy New Year, readers :D I hope 2016 will be amazing for all of you! Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, favouriting, etc.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

They're taking the kidnapping clichés a bit too far if you ask her. She gets the tying her hands behind her back thing, but a black hood over her head? Really?

At least they didn't stuff her in the trunk, just pushed her into the backseat and slammed the door behind her.

They took care of her first, seeing her as more of a flight risk since Fred was powered down, so she doesn't know what they did with him, but she suspects he did get the trunk treatment.

She doesn't know what happened to Harun either.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she's aware that she should be freaking out, but what she's really feeling right now is a strange detachment, a deadly logical and emotionless way of examining her situation to try and get out of it. She doesn't doubt that the fear will settle in at some point – she may very well just be in some kind of shock and will probably panic once the fact that this is actually happening hits her – but for now, she decides not to look a gift horse in the mouth and to take advantage of her calm state to come up with a plan.

One thing she needs to keep in mind is that Fred was right. They're going to want to use them to lure the others out, which means that they won't kill them.

Unless of course Hobb doesn't think that she could be of any use to him since he already has Fred and deems her expendable, but her and her family have already managed to outmanoeuvre him once, so there's a good chance he'll think she can be valuable in some way.

She tries to keep track of time, but in the end she gets confused, and when the car comes to a stop and she hears the doors being opened, she has no idea how long they've been driving. She really hopes that Fred was right and that they've been brought to the same house they held him in before. It would mean he knows the premises, something that will definitely work in their favour.

She hears the car door on her left side open, and rough hands grab her upper arms to drag her out. As soon as she's on her feet, she shakes them off angrily, to no avail since they just push her forward and catch her by her shoulders when she stumbles to regain her balance.

"Now, now, Miss Hawkins, don't make this any more difficult than it has to be."

She hates that voice, she decides right then and there. The urge to talk back is strong, but she manages to bite her tongue, knowing that it won't do her any good. She resigns herself to being led wherever they want to get her, and after a few minutes of being dragged and warned about obstacles such as stairs, they finally take off the hood, and she shakes her head even as she takes in her surroundings.

She can't hold back the sarcastic "Oh good, more clichés" that escapes her when she sees the white empty room that looks very much like it belongs in a mental institution. This actually earns her the beginnings of a smile from the young, dark-haired guy who led her here before he regains his professional reflexes and sends her a dark look, and she files the reaction away for later use. She's not optimistic enough to think she can convince him to let her go, but if he feels some kind of friendliness towards her, he might let down his guard at some point, or at least take her side if the others want to torture or kill her.

"Turn around," he orders her gruffly, and against her every instincts, she does as she's told, letting out a relieved sigh when he unties her hands.

She immediately starts rubbing her wrists to try and get some feeling back in them, wincing at the chafing she finds there, and she turns back to face her jailer.

"I'm Mattie. What's your name?"

"None of your business."

"Parents didn't love you?" She looks hard for a smile, even just the beginnings of one, but this time her attempt at humour is met with nothing but a stony expression. "Right. Not funny. Got it. Where am I?"

"The Professor will be with you soon. Try to get comfortable."

She snorts at that and looks pointedly around the room, where the only definition of comfort would be to sit on a hard floor.

"Yeah, _that's_ gonna happen."

The guard just shrugs and motions for her to step back. She briefly considers trying to hit him and to get past him before he has a chance to lock her up, but he clearly has some kind of military training that she would stand precisely no chance against, and she has no idea how many other guards she would have to avoid in order to get out even if she did manage to escape him. Not to mention the fact that she doesn't have the faintest clue where she is or where she should go if she did manage to get out. Deciding to bide her time, she does as she was told – wow, twice in a day, this has to be a new record – and cringes when the door slides shut between them and she hears the telltale sound of a lock being turned even as the guard stares at her through the small glass opening in the middle of the door. He then settles on a chair on the other side of her door, facing her, making it clear that he won't look away for even one second.

Great. Looks like it's time for a nice little game of waiting.

* * *

As soon as he wakes up and sees Edwin Hobb sitting across from him, Fred starts transmitting his position, just like Mattie told him to. Her plan was brilliant, and it may just get them out of here, so he sees no reason not to do what she asked of him.

He notices that _here_ isn't the same house he was in before. This is going to complicate things, but he's learned long ago that nothing is impossible.

"Hello, Fred. It's nice to see you again." He brings his stare back to Hobb, his motions deliberately slow, but doesn't reply. "Ah. I see you're still angry with me."

"You tried to use me to destroy my family. Of course I'm still angry with you."

"Right. Well, thankfully, you can't do anything about it now, can you? As your primary user, I'm untouchable, and I order you not to attack my men. You will not try to escape either. Understood?" It takes all of his willpower not to smile, but he manages to school his face into a reluctant mask, nodding in answer to Hobb's commands. "Perfect. Now, the girl. What was she doing with you?"

"A girl?" he asks, feigning confusion since he's supposed to have been powered down ever since he told his family to leave him in that crypt, which means that according to what Hobb thinks, he can't possibly know about Mattie trying to tamper with his code.

"Matilda Hawkins. She was with you. Her friend led us to you."

"Her friend?" he repeats, frowning.

Hobb watches him silently for a minute, clearly trying to decide whether he's being truthful, and ends up shaking his head.

"It's not important. You know that you can't lie to me, right?"

He lets his rage show clearly, his eyes shining with unrestrained anger, his jaw working hard as he grinds his teeth together.

"Yes."

"Good, good," Hobb comments, rubbing his hands together in satisfaction. "Do you know where the others are?"

"No."

"How disappointing. Do you know how to find them?"

"No."

"Hm."

Hobb seems to be thinking, but Fred thinks that he may just be trying to make him nervous by letting the silence stretch on. A strategy that is not working. Because contrary to what he believes, Hobb doesn't hold that many cards. He does have the advantage in that he has men and weapons at his disposal, and in that Fred doesn't know where in the house Mattie is being held and he is certainly not going to leave without her after everything she did for him, but this is the extent of Hobb's control. The rest is in their hands.

"Alright," Hobb exclaims enthusiastically after a while. "I think it's time I had a little chat with Miss Hawkins."

Before Fred has a chance to react, he's powered down again.

* * *

The door to her cell opens, and Mattie instantly gets up from her uncomfortable position on the floor to face the newcomer. Though she's never met him face to face before, she's seen pictures and heard enough about him to know who he is, and she raises her chin in defiance as he signals for the guard to come in and lock the door behind him. The guy takes up position in a corner of the room, clearly trying to be as unobtrusive as possible while still making it obvious that he's ready for anything.

"Miss Hawkins. It seems I didn't pay you the attention you deserved."

"I was perfectly fine with that."

"Yes, I imagine so."

"Where's Fred?"

"Straight to the point, I like that. He's safe, don't worry about it."

"You mean he's safe until you get the others, recreate David Elster's program and decide that they're useless to you," she replies, her voice scornful and aggressive.

Hobb doesn't even try to deny it, just looks delighted that she didn't hesitate to confront him with his plan, like he's actually proud of her for figuring it out. Seriously, if he wants to butter her up, this is not the right way to go about it, because 1) it's not like it was hard to figure out, and 2) she doesn't give a damn what he thinks of her.

"Yes, exactly."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know how to contact Leo or the others, so I'm afraid you kidnapped me for nothing. Can I go home now?" she asks, making a move to walk past him even though she knows perfectly well that it's useless.

"I don't need you to contact them for me."

This gives her pause, the fear that he somehow already knows where they are and that he's just waiting to make his move shaking her confidence for a moment, and she can feel her mask of annoyed indifference slipping to let her curiosity and worry show clearly on her face.

"Then what do you want from me?"

"Just _be_."

Her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline at that.

"That's… unexpected," she comments, before coming back to more important matters. "So you know where they are."

"Not exactly. But it's only a matter of time."

"How? You can't use me or Fred if you have no way of telling them you've got us."

"I have my ways," he replies mysteriously. "What I really want to know now is, did they keep a copy of David's program?"

"How should _I_ know?" she asks, just defensively enough that it can pass for indignation but not so much that he'll realise she knows more than she's letting on.

"You _were_ with them when they escaped, weren't you?"

"Yeah, and I helped them, and I'd do it again," she taunts as haughtily as she can. "Doesn't mean I know what they did after that."

"Sadly, I cannot extract your memories the way I'd do with a synth. But there are other ways with a human. Ways I don't think you're going to enjoy." Before she can question him, he turns to the guard. "Get Fred here."

"Yes Professor," he answers immediately before getting his radio out and giving the order.

There goes her hope that he'd leave the room and maybe leave the door open. Focusing back on her, Hobb gives her a condescending smile, as if he's just read her thoughts.

"I'm sure you know that most synths, Fred included, are programmed with extensive knowledge of the human body. It makes them great healers. However, with a synth that's not ruled by those inconvenient little Asimov blocks, it can also…"

"Make him a great torturer," she finishes for him in a horrified whisper. "You're gonna make him torture me."

"We'll see who caves first, him, or you. My money's on him."

Up until now, she thought that Hobb was just a bad guy ruled by his lust for power. Now, she knows that he's also a sadistic bastard. And though she knows what _he_ doesn't – that Fred is not going to hurt her and that getting him in the same room as her is going to give them the opportunity they've been waiting for – it's easy to let her expression turn into one of pure hatred as the realisation of what he really is settles in.

She can honestly say that despite the many assholes she goes to school with, she has never _really_ wanted to physically hurt someone in her life… Up until this moment, where she knows that if she had the opportunity, she would gladly knee Hobb until he would pass out from the pain, and not just because it might give her a chance to run, but because she wants to make him suffer for everything he did and is trying to do to that family.

Sadly though, she doesn't have the opportunity as the guard is still in the room, and soon joined by another who gets in before motioning Fred inside as well.

The synth discreetly gives her an appraising look and she nods behind the others' backs to let him know that she's okay.

"So, Fred," Hobb starts, "I know that you were off for a while, so asking you what happened to Elster's consciousness program is useless, and your friend here doesn't want to cooperate. I want _you_ to get me my answers."

Fred's eyes widen in surprise mixed with horror at that, and Mattie knows exactly how he feels. Then a kind of determination settles over his features, and she knows that this is it, the moment where he's going to try to get them out of here. She needs to be ready.

"What do you want me to do?" he asks Hobb with unmasked fury, never taking his eyes off of her.

"Anything, as long as it involves some kind of pain for Miss Hawkins."

Fred nods resolutely and starts advancing towards her. Deciding that she should probably play the part, she takes a few frightened steps back, making sure they bring her right next to the first guard as she finds herself with her back against the wall.

"Matilda," Fred says softly, waiting for the right moment, she assumes. "Do not make this any harder than it has to be. Just tell him what he wants to know."

"I don't know anything!" she exclaims, making sure to let her supposed panic seep into her voice. "And even if I did…"

That's when all hell breaks loose.

One powerful punch from Fred is all it takes for the guard to go out like a light, and Mattie instinctively ducks and brings Fred down with her when a flash of movement behind him lets her know that the other guard is aiming his weapon at them. Hobb is screaming something that she can't hear over the ringing in her ears and Fred's "Stay down!" as he jumps back up to his feet and throws himself at the other guard, easily stealing his stun gun and shooting Hobb in seemingly the same motion.

Matilda quickly crawls over to the unconscious guard and takes his weapon from him, not giving herself time to think as she checks that the safety is off and shoots the other one, who was just about to jump on Fred's back. He goes down with a pained cry.

Who knew that shooting synths for sports with Harun would come in handy at some point?

From her spot on the floor, Mattie checks that all three of their enemies seem to be unconscious for the time being before getting back up to her feet and joining Fred near Hobb's convulsing body.

"This man will never stop underestimating me," the synth comments evenly as he goes through his pockets, extracting his wallet and taking out a few notes that he hands over to her. "Here. This might be useful." She pockets the money without a word and goes to check the other men's pockets as well. "This is not the place where I was held the last time," Fred informs her before adding, "Hurry. Hobb raised the alarm, we don't have long before…"

He doesn't get to finish his sentence before a commotion in the hallway proves him right, and they exchange a quick glance and raise their weapons before getting out.

Fred quickly shoots two guards running towards them and she takes care of the third one, surprised when no one else comes.

"He didn't think I'd be an issue, hence the small number of guards," Fred explains as they start walking down the hallway, trying to figure out which way to go to get out of here. "How much money did you get?"

"About 80 pounds."

"Good."

He motions for her to follow him as he finally locates the exit and they find themselves outside. Fred looks around for a second before bringing a hand to her elbow to lead her in the right direction. They start running, the synth matching his pace to hers, and it looks like they're actually going to make it.

She doesn't know what goes wrong.

One second they're side by side, the next Fred goes down and is shouting at her to keep going.

She has a fraction of a second to make her decision, and ends up following his advice, because she won't be of any use to him if they're both back in that place, especially now that Hobb knows that Fred isn't programmed to obey him anymore.

She doesn't realise that tears are running down her cheeks until her vision gets blurry and she has to slow down just long enough to wipe them away, her breath coming out in sharp, painful pants both from exhaustion and from the terrified sobs she's trying to hold back.

A quick glance behind her informs her that no one is coming after her – they're probably too busy making sure Fred is really subdued – but she keeps running until she just can't anymore and she collapses against a tree somewhere in a wood, with no idea where she is or what to do.

* * *

Eventually she manages to catch her breath and to regain her senses and she pushes herself back to her feet, her legs only slightly shaky. She runs her hand over her face to try and get rid of the evidence of tears, a new resolution washing over her.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, she considers her options and decides that the first thing to do is to contact Fred's family. She can tell them where their brother is and share any information that might help them get him back. She knows she'll likely be more of a hindrance than anything else if she tries to physically help them fight their way in, but she can do _a lot_ from a distance. Guide them, tell them everything she knows about the place where he is held, maybe try to find a safe place for them to go to once they've saved him.

This means that she needs access to a computer to check whether Leo has finally gotten her message, and if he hasn't, she has some research to do. Fred said there was a chance they might go back to their birthplace, so that's where she'll start if she has to. Finding out where David Elster relocated his family when he wanted to get away from the attention shouldn't be too hard.

She walks for what feels like hours trying to find civilisation, her exhausted body almost sagging with relief when she finally sees a few houses before her. Hiding the gun at her back, in the waistband of her pants beneath her sweater – thank God for her taste for loose clothes – she walks down the street until she finds a coffee shop and decides that she needs to get something to drink and eat. With some luck, she'll even be able to borrow someone's laptop in order to check the headcracker forum.

As soon as she walks in though, all eyes turn to her and she frowns in confusion at the gasps that greet her. Looking around, she notices that a few people seem to be hesitating between staring at her and staring at the TV that hangs from one of the walls, and she follows their gaze until she finally focuses on the screen and notices that the news are on.

It takes much longer than it should for her brain to catch up with what she's seeing, and when it does, she can only gawk.

Well… Shit.

Her own face is staring back at her.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	7. Chapter 6

**So, it seems some people wanted more Leo… ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

"Leo? There is something you need to see."

"I'm working, Maxie," Leo says curtly, not bothering to look up from the code he's glaring at as if it's personally offended him.

Which, it kind of has, by being nothing more than a basic synth code.

"This is important."

With an exasperated sigh – his family knows how much he dislikes breaking his concentration when he's working on something – he finally tears his eyes away from the screen to focus on his brother, only now noticing that their sisters are with him and that Mia looks incredibly worried. This instantly lets him know that whatever they have to say, he doesn't want to hear it, but that he probably needs to.

"What is it?"

Max and Mia share a look, and Niska rolls her eyes at them before grabbing the tablet Max is holding against his chest and handing it to him.

"If you're so set on telling him, at least just rip off the bloody Band-Aid!"

Mia's answer is lost to Leo as he takes the tablet and his world abruptly comes to a stop.

Mattie's face is on the screen, the words _CHILD ABDUCTION_ in big, red letters beneath it – which absurdly drags a sneer out of him at the thought of anyone calling her a child and of her reaction if she ever finds out, though he is aware that she's technically still a minor.

Focusing on this is probably his brain's way of trying to escape the truth for a couple of seconds longer.

Because it's a truth he desperately wants to escape.

"It's not the worst part," Mia's warning finally breaks through his shock.

"It's not?" he asks in a voice he doesn't recognise as his, a voice that's broken and croaky and weak from shock and fear and a hint of denial – _please don't let this be true_.

He feels more than he sees Maxie shaking his head as he says, "Look at the contact number."

He does, and just like that, the fear reaches a whole new level, one that's closer to full-blown terror. Can't-breathe, head-turning, stomach-cramping, retching terror. A terror that he quickly tries to stomp down on, knowing he won't be of any use to anyone if he gives into it. Still, nothing can quite soothe the way his throat closes up with a repressed scream of frustration and panic.

"It's Hobb's," he says after a moment of silence he uses to process the information, and this time, his voice is pretty much emotionless, because this is suddenly too much and he needs to repress all feelings before he starts yelling and throwing things at the wall. "His way of letting us know he's the one who has her."

"What does it matter?" Niska asks impatiently. "He's trying to lure you out, just don't raise to the bait and he'll let her go once he sees that it's not working. If it was up to me, we wouldn't even have told you!"

He's off his chair and in front of her faster than he thought possible, all but snarling in her face.

"So what? You'd leave her with him?"

"Yes. It's not like he's…"

"Like he's what? Going to torture her? He will. He will stop at nothing, we all know it. We are getting her out, and you will not suggest anything else again!"

Niska looks taken aback by his vehemence for a whole second before she's growling right back at him.

"She is _not_ family! And she can handle it! Hell, knowing her, he's probably getting a tongue lashing right about now and fighting one hell of a headache while wondering why he took her in the first place."

Despite the situation, Leo feels a twinge of amusement at Niska's comment, knowing that it's likely to have been true at least in the first few minutes of Mattie's imprisonment. He'd probably even smile at the thought if he didn't suspect that by now, Hobb is _not_ the one suffering from some kind of physical pain.

He looks to Mia for help, hoping that she will be able to make Niska see reason, and she turns to their sister without hesitation, using a much more rational voice than he did.

"The Hawkins have done so much for us. We owe it to them, to _her_ , to at least try."

"It's a trap! Why else would he announce it to the world? He _wanted_ us to find out about this! It's a trap and you're all…"

"Leo knows that, Niska," Mia says, her tone still a stark contrast to Niska's loud protests.

"Then _why_ is he so willing to fall headfirst into it?" she exclaims, motioning at him.

"Why do you think?" is Mia's quiet reply, and Niska opens and closes her mouth a few times, clearly trying to think of an explanation but coming up short.

She ends up turning back towards Leo, watching him carefully, searching his face for the answer. He just looks back at her silently, waiting for her to figure it out, and it seems to dawn on her at last, her face a sudden mix of realisation, horror and surprise.

"Seriously? When did _this_ happen?"

Maxie opens his mouth, presumably to answer with something that Leo would disagree with, but his brother cuts him off before he can get a word out, his tone crisp and short.

"We are _not_ leaving her in Hobb's hands and that's final."

"Not like I can stop you," Niska mutters, the fight going out of her since she's so clearly outnumbered.

"Niska," Mia adds reasonably, "Her mother has the code. It's only a matter of time before Hobb figures it out and gets her to tell him where it is. Rescuing her is in our best interest."

"Fine!" Niska spits out. "So what do we do? Since we're all apparently going on a suicide mission?"

"First things first," Mia decides, taking matters into her own hands since she can see that Leo isn't in any state of mind to be making plans. "We need to make sure that this is actually happening. There is no sense in panicking until we know that she really is in danger. Hobb could be bluffing."

"True," Leo concedes, pulling the mobile phone he procured after they left the Hawkins out of his pocket and quickly typing in a number.

The voice that answers is hesitant, clearly wary of the unidentified caller.

" _Hello?"_

"Toby, don't use my name," Leo warns first and foremost, only for the teenager to chuckle darkly in answer, having recognised his voice as quickly as Leo hoped he would.

" _If you think we're not under surveillance, you're dumber than my sister thought. Not using your name isn't going to change a thing, they know you're calling."_

"I know. They're also probably trying to trace the call, so we need to keep it short. But I don't want your family to know I called yet. Is it true? Is she really missing?"

" _Yeah."_

He closes his eyes, giving himself a second to get over the answer. He hadn't really expected anything else, but having it confirmed still feels like getting the news all over again, the reality of the situation sinking in, the barely-there hope that Mia's bluffing comment had brought vanishing instantly.

"What can you tell me?"

" _Not much. We're pretty sure she's about as safe as can be, since he wants to use her to get to you, but we don't know where she was taken or how."_

"Do you know why?"

" _I just told you why,"_ Mattie's brother says in a tone that suggests he's questioning his intelligence again, and Leo closes his eyes once more, this time to hold back the string of profanities that wants to fly out of his mouth.

The kid is not to blame for how worried he is right now, but mouthing off to him for not instantly understanding the real meaning behind his question – something that is making him lose some precious seconds – is awfully tempting.

"Yes, but was there any kind of trigger? He could have gone after any of you any time since we left. Why her and why now?"

" _The 'why her' part's easy."_

"Right," Leo says quickly, unwilling to get into this right now, especially with her brother – he doesn't need to be reminded of the fact that she finds herself in this situation because of him, because Hobb has somehow figured out that she's… important. "So why now?"

" _I don't know. We haven't seen her much lately to be honest. She came back late in the evenings, wasn't here last weekend. She was always at Harun's."_

His mind instantly connects the name to the pictures of Hu-bot97's friend he saw when he was trying to find her, and he latches on to it.

"Have you heard from him?"

" _No."_

"Can you text me his number?"

" _Sure. Not sure how much help he'll be though. He's a bit clueless."_

There's something tickling at the back of his mind, an idea that started forming as soon as he heard that she's been in constant contact with her friend and that seems to be growing with Toby's assessment of his character, but not quite enough to become anything substantial, and it's nagging at him. What is he missing?

" _You still here?"_ Toby asks.

"Yes, just thinking."

" _Mum's tried everything, but she can't even get in touch with Hobb to negotiate or something. Just… Just get her back to us, okay?"_ Toby pleads, his voice suddenly hesitant, showing his fear for the first time since they started this conversation, sounding much more like the clumsy teen Leo remembers.

Before he can think of an appropriate answer, Mattie's brother hangs up on him. A second later he gets the text with Harun's number and he immediately calls it, only for it to ring a few times before the call goes to voicemail.

Cursing under his breath, he puts his phone on the table, the call still connected, and sets to work on his laptop. Finding out Harun's location should be easy, and then maybe they can deduce what went wrong if Mattie was supposed to be with him when she was taken.

He launches a locating program on Mattie's phone as well, though he's not too hopeful there. Not only does he doubt that she was taken with it, she blocked the signal back when her family was blackmailing Hobb with his memories, which means that locating it has to be close to impossible even if she does have it with her. He's seen how good she is at covering her tracks. He might be able to narrow it down, but nothing more.

He's also seen how resourceful she is, so maybe he can count on her to somehow get access to a computer, even briefly, while she's imprisoned. Or maybe a mobile. This is the girl who, for all intents and purposes, _stole_ a handbag _in the middle of a coffee shop_ in full daylight without anyone noticing until she was well out of reach. She's cunning, and people tend to underestimate her. He has no doubt that she could discreetly slip a phone out of one of her jailers' pocket. If she does, he knows exactly what her first move will be.

Time to visit the headcracker forum again.

* * *

A Child Rescue Alert? _Seriously?!_

Okay. Breathe, Matilda. This may not be as bad as it looks. Maybe your parents just got worried and…

And what, exactly? Called the police?

Unlikely.

She hasn't been gone long enough to justify it, they've gotten used to her coming back late in the evenings and she even sent them a text earlier today telling them that she wouldn't be back for dinner. Even if they tried to call her only for the call to go straight to voicemail, they wouldn't have taken such measures yet. They would have waited a few more hours to see if she called them back.

No, the most logical explanation is that this is what Hobb was talking about when he told her he had a way of letting Leo know he had her.

In the couple of seconds it takes for these thoughts to cross Mattie's mind, people start pointing at her and she even sees an elderly woman getting her cell phone out, her eyes darting to the screen where the number to call if anyone hears from or sees her is written in bright, bold red numbers.

This prompts Mattie into action.

Turning on her heels, acting on pure instinct, she leaves the place as quickly as she can without actually running, hoping to put some distance between herself and the people who have recognised her.

With a bit of luck, they will either think that they were mistaken and that she's not the supposedly kidnapped girl, or that she's fine since she's clearly on her own and not under anyone's control.

She takes a few twists and turns leaving the coffee shop, hoping to lose potential followers – when has _this_ become her life? – and ends up finding refuge in a supermarket, keeping her head down and her hair carefully in front of her face in the hope that the security cameras won't show her face and that the employees won't recognise her. If she's lucky, they've been stuck here for a while and haven't had a chance to see the news since Hobb leaked her picture to the press hoping that news of her kidnapping would get back to Leo and the others.

He clearly wasn't expecting her to escape, yet his move is working in his favour now that she has. This certainly explains why no one came after her once they got to Fred. They knew she wouldn't get very far. She has no doubt that Hobb has taken precautions to be the first person in the know as soon as anyone calls the emergency number that's all over the news under her picture – it's probably his own number, now that she thinks about it – which means that she can't go to the police or get any kind of help, because who would believe her? No matter what she says, the first thing anyone is going to do if they recognise her is call that number.

She is now one of the most well-known faces in the country, which is going to make it bloody easy for Hobb to find her. It's not like she can avoid all human interactions forever. She needs to buy food, find a computer to do some research on, maybe get to the Elster estate, and she's bound to be seen by _someone_ at some point. And then that someone, hoping to _help_ , will lead the very guy who is after her straight to her.

She briefly considers trying to get in touch with Drummond, knowing that he would be willing to help her, but it's highly likely he was thrown off the force for his transgressions, or at the very least suspended, so he wouldn't be able to do much. And even if that's not the case, there's a risk Hobb has him under surveillance.

Seriously, why can't things work in her favour every once in a while?

Pulling her hood over her head for more anonymity, she tries not to look around her too much. She's thankful that the supermarket is mostly empty thanks to the late hour, only two or three people there who don't care enough to try and take a good look at the rude girl walking past them without even making eye contact and a few synths shopping for their owners.

She intends to go straight to the aisle where she can find some food, water, and then maybe a blanket because there's every chance she's going to be sleeping outside tonight, but something catches her eye as she's walking through the beauty products section, and she stops dead in her tracks before backing up a few steps and stopping to stare at the _something_ in question.

Coloured contact lenses. Bright green.

Because people are fucked up enough that some of them dress up as fucking synths for Halloween and for other purposes that she _really_ doesn't want to think about.

She tries to talk herself out of it, she really does.

But she's always heard it said that the best place to hide is in plain sight, and frankly, the idea _is_ kinda genius. Sort of terrible too, but genius all the same.

What does she have to lose? If she stays herself, someone's bound to identify her sooner rather than later.

If Niska can pass for a human, she doesn't see why she can't pass for a synth.

If she nails the role, it will make a lot of things easier. For one thing, no one ever looks twice at synths, so she'll be able to move around freely without fear of being recognised at every turn. For another, because they can't lie, no one ever questions synths. Which means that she could, in theory, do many things that she wouldn't be able to do as a human – certainly not as a _wanted_ human.

All she has to do is walk, talk, and act like a synth, avoid routine controls and stay away from real synths so that they don't do anything that might give her away, like ask her why she doesn't share or shit like that.

She's been around enough of them – Anita included – that she thinks she can pull it off. She just has to put her natural tendency to _react_ to anything around her on hold for a while. Should be easy, right?

Oh what the hell! She doesn't know why she's trying to think of so many reasons to justify her crazy idea when she knows perfectly well that her decision is already made. Grabbing the contacts, the cheapest flat iron she can find and some make-up remover, she then walks resolutely over to the party section of the supermarket. Sure enough, among the princess and pirate outfits for kids there, she finds a bloody synth costume, adult size, complete with a pair of flat shoes in the same boring blue as the pants and top. She stuffs the whole thing under her arm, and her next stop is the food aisle, where she takes enough to last her a few days, as well as two bottles of water.

By the time she's done, her arms are overflowing with clothes, packs of crisps and chocolate bars, and she lets it all fall at the self-checkout counter with a thud. She briefly considers trying to buy a disposable phone, but she doesn't think she'll have enough money left after this and it's not like there is any number she can call anyway, so she dismisses the idea.

Once all her things have been weighted and packed, she slips the notes she took from Hobb and his men into the machine – damn, money has a tendency to disappear _fast_ – and soon she's safely locked away in the accessible toilet right next to the exit.

Only then does she allow herself a moment to breathe, sliding down to the floor with her back pressed against the closed door.

She stays like that for a few minutes, just processing everything, from Harun's unintentional betrayal and unknown fate to Hobb's arrival and interrogation, from her escape to Fred being captured again right when they thought they were free, from finding out that she's supposedly the victim of a kidnapping to her latest crazy plan.

Really, who could blame her for needing a moment to herself?

She eats a chocolate bar, hoping that it will keep her energy up until she can find a place to get some rest. Going through the contents of her grocery bag, she takes out the make-up remover and uses some toilet paper to take off what little make-up she's wearing, cursing when the motion brings her fingers to eyelevel and she sees her dark nail polish. Crap, she forgot about that. It's not unheard of, but it _is_ unusual for synths to wear some unless they're sex dolls, and the _last_ thing she needs is to be unusual in any way – it's right up there with being mistaken for a sex doll.

She's trying to be inconspicuous, so this just won't do.

Since she didn't think to buy anything to remove it and she doesn't want to get out of her relatively safe spot until her transformation is complete, she chips away at it until there's nothing left, letting the dried remnants fall into the sink and rinsing them away. Eyeing her brand new flat iron, she lets out a heavy sigh. She's done this once or twice out of curiosity before, wondering what she'd look like with straight hair, and either her hair is too bushy or she doesn't know how to do this properly, because it always takes ages to get it right.

Oh well.

She plugs the thing in resignedly and starts working, managing to only sigh once about every two minutes, which is pretty reasonable for her when doing something that she despises.

Almost an hour later, she decides that it won't get any better and she takes a look at herself in the mirror. Yep, neat centre parting, all shiny and straight, looking much longer than when it's styled in her natural waves, and as bland as she remembers. Which will make the whole look way more believable, so there's that.

Next, she strips down to her underwear, takes off her jewellery and watch, and puts on her brand new clothes as well as the shoes. She then stuffs her old outfit in the grocery bag, unwilling to leave any trace of her presence here, just in case.

The contacts are the last step, and she quickly scans the instructions before tearing the package open. She has to try a few times before she manages to actually get the thing to stay in place, and her eyes are red-rimmed and shining with unshed tears by the time she's put both of them on. She has to blink a few times to get rid of the slight stinging sensation, eventually deciding that it's not so bad and that she'll get used to it.

Moment of truth.

She takes a few steps back in order to give herself a full onceover in the mirror.

And gasps at what she sees.

Well… She was trying to make herself unrecognisable, she can easily say that her mission is accomplished.

The straight hair, the neutral, form-fitting clothes, the flats, the lack of make-up and jewellery, and of course the bright green eyes… To her eternal stupefaction, they all _work_. Now all she needs to do is work on her stance. She stands up straight and holds her head high while trying to look as unobtrusive as possible, and when she gets it right, she can't help but shake her head in disbelief at the image.

She doubts her own mother would recognise her, let alone Hobb or total strangers not looking too hard.

Still… This _is_ kind of mad.

Of all the unlikely, terrible ideas she's ever had, this one easily makes it to the top 5. And the list is bloody long for someone her age.

It may even top the idea that got her in this mess in the first place. Which is saying a lot.

Of course, either this works and saves her life and no one will ever have to know about this crazy idea of hers, or it doesn't and she'll die and won't care about what everybody else thinks.

Not that she usually does, mind you.

Staring at herself in the mirror, trying not to wince at her transformation, Mattie takes a deep breath and focuses hard on making her voice as even as possible as she rehashes her role until she feels she has it down to perfection.

"Can I help you?"

Wait, that's not right. Too short.

"How may I help you?"

Better, but not perfect.

"Would you like me to drive?"

Too loud.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

Did she just frown? She did, didn't she?

Bollocks. Sophie is so much better at this than she is.

Suddenly, there's a knock at the door and she jumps, catching a glimpse of her 'deer in the headlights' expression in the mirror, her unnaturally bright green eyes wide with fear.

She's so screwed.

If a single knock can make her jump like that, she's going to be found out in ten seconds flat.

"Are you done in there?"

Shit.

She starts gathering her things as silently as possible and takes a quick look around the room to make sure nothing will betray her. Once she's convinced that everything is okay, she puts her hand on the handle and gets ready for her first test as a pretend synth by breathing deeply in and out a few times, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Hello?" the same voice, slightly more exasperated, insists, and she knows that she can't stall any longer.

As seamlessly as possible, she opens the door and finds herself face to face with a woman in her forties who jumps when she sees her.

An understandable reaction to finding a synth in a public bathroom.

"Hello," Matilda says evenly. "May I help you?"

"I, er, no, I just… What the hell were you doing in there?"

"I was cleaning the restroom," she answers, thankful that the bag she's carrying is corroborating her story – it could hold cleaning supplies for all the woman knows.

The stranger narrows her eyes at her suspiciously, though her next words lack any heat or doubt – they're just informative, and this is exactly the kind of blind trust Mattie was counting on when she decided to give this insane idea a shot.

"You didn't need to lock the door for that."

Good point, but she decides to ignore it, knowing that's what a synth would probably do.

"I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused."

The woman just shrugs, and Mattie gives herself a mental pat on the back both for her idea and for its execution. So far, she's flawless, her tone just the right mix of clueless, helpful and monotonous, her face betraying absolutely nothing.

"Right, well, if you're done…"

"Of course," she replies politely after letting the awkward pause last just that tiny bit too long, since most synths would expect the other woman to finish her sentence instead of leaving it hanging in the air between them. Stepping outside, she holds the door open for her to go in. "Have a nice evening."

"Yeah, thanks, whatever," is all she gets in answer, the first victim of her deception clearly still confused about finding a synth locked in a supermarket's toilet but not thinking too much of it.

After all, nobody ever has any reason to question a synth's word. Thanks, Persona.

 _Yep, good job, Mats. Brilliant idea. Now, let's see about contacting the others._

* * *

 **TBC…**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

He's staring blankly at the screen, his breath caught in his throat, hardly understanding what he's reading, wondering how many more punches he's supposed to be able to endure before his brain just shuts down from the overload of information and feelings. He can vaguely hear the others talking behind him, but the words are indistinct, a vague background noise that only adds to the confusion in his mind, mixing with jumbled thoughts that he's trying as hard as he can to grasp only to have them slip out of reach and be replaced by others.

Because really, how is he supposed to react to the words that greeted him as soon as he logged into his headcracker account?

 _How's charm school treating you? Your brother is feeling much better. Set up location for a meeting ASAP._

"Is she talking about Fred? Did she _fix_ him?" he finally hears Niska ask incredulously, and he can only nod slowly in answer, trying to come to terms with the fact that not only must Mattie have gone to incredible lengths to try to save his brother – it seems she succeeded where he failed.

It briefly occurs to him that he should feel sceptical, maybe even offended, but the only things that make it to the surface are amazement and gratitude. Perhaps he _does_ know her as well as he thinks he does, after all. She didn't leave well enough alone.

Of course she didn't.

How did he ever manage to convince himself otherwise?

"Charm school? What is this about?"

"This is something that Leo told her when he was trying to convince her to meet with us again," Max explains in answer to Mia's question.

"Why would she start with this?" Niska asks, confused. "The rest of her message is very different. To the point. This doesn't seem coherent."

Leo's lips twitch into what could almost be called a smile, because Mattie did not just manage to avoid mentioning names in her message in case it triggered some kind of alarm set up by Hobb, she also made sure he knew the message was really from her, since her, Max and himself are the only people in the world who know about his little comment. She found a quick and sure way to let him know that this wasn't a trap.

In the screen's reflection, he sees the instant Mia gets it from the way her mouth forms a little soundless 'o' and her eyes widen in admiration.

"This was very clever of her."

"Yeah," he says in a pained breath, speaking for the first time since the words appeared on the screen, finding it hard to talk over the lump in his throat.

"Leo? What's wrong?"

He swallows hard and points at the screen, at the little numbers that seem to be taunting him.

"The date."

"What?"

"She sent it over two days ago."

If he'd bothered checking his messages, if he hadn't been so busy trying to convince himself that cutting off all ties was safer for both sides, then he would have known that she was trying to contact him, he would have known what she'd done, he would have found a safe place for Fred to reunite with them, and she wouldn't be in this situation now.

"There was no way you could have known."

Max's soothing voice doesn't do anything to ease his mind, but it doesn't really matter. He'll just add this to the long list of things he feels guilty about and needs to deal with at a later date, if he ever gets the chance to.

Until then, what _does_ matter is trying to help her.

So he quickly types in a few sentences and hits _send_ under the approving eyes of his family – save for Niska, who's still hesitant despite Mia's rational argument about rescuing Matilda before Hobb can torture the information about their father's program out of her.

 _ **Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. Charm school taking up all of my time – still got a lot to learn, like how to say goodbye. Saw the news. How can I help?**_

The bit about saying goodbye he adds in reluctantly, knowing that he too needs to give her something to let her know that this is really coming from him. This is the first thing that came to mind, probably because this is something he's been brooding over ever since they went their separate ways, one of the regrets he's having a hard time putting behind him.

Now all he can do is wait. He has no idea when she'll manage to gain access to the forum, and in the meantime there is nothing he can do for her.

Except call the number Hobb so helpfully provided. Which would give the Professor the opportunity to track him, or to talk him into turning himself in.

Perhaps that's what he should do. He doesn't know how long Hobb's had her for exactly, but it's likely long enough that the interrogation has begun, and he doesn't want to think about what kind of means said interrogation might entail.

Plus, their enemy couldn't make it public since the media wouldn't care about a kidnapped synth and he wants to keep their existence a secret for now anyway, but given what Mattie said about Fred in her message, there's a very good chance his brother was taken with her and is now back under Hobb's thumb. And that's something he can't allow to last.

"Leo, look," Max says, pulling him from his thoughts with a motion at the screen, and for one hopeful, heart-stopping moment, he thinks that Mattie's already answered, but it's just the locating program on Harun's phone that's finally done. The place doesn't mean anything to him, but it _is_ a clue. He should probably start there before he starts thinking about doing what Hobb wants him to do.

"Alright, we're going to…"

Before he can finish his sentence, a dialog box informs him that Hu-bot97 has just sent him an invitation to a private chatroom, and he doesn't think he's ever opened a message faster in his entire life, Harun's phone's position entirely forgotten.

 _You can't. I'm safe. Don't look for me. We need to focus on your brother. They still have him. I'll send you everything I know and we can come up with a plan._

And he thought his feelings were a jumbled mess before!

She's out. She's safe. She wants to help him – again.

And, if there was any question about _this_ message really being from Mattie, it's just been answered. Hobb wouldn't be trying to convince him not to fall headfirst into a trap he'd specifically set for him. Although… Maybe offering to give him Fred's location and to help him save his brother could be considered suspicious. He doesn't see how Hobb could possibly know about the headcracker forum, but he's learned to be extra careful. He needs to keep this conversation going for a little bit, see if the person he's talking to says anything that betrays their true identity, if they prove to really be Mattie.

While he's at it, he launches another program to narrow down her location, via the forum this time, since the one on her phone came up empty. He won't be able to pinpoint her exact IP address, but it'll give him a rough idea of where she is.

 _ **How safe? On a scale of 1 to 10?**_

 _6._

This is better than what he'd dared hope for. Of course, she could be overestimating it on purpose to try and reassure him about her situation, hoping to dissuade him from coming to her help. So maybe he needs to translate that down to a much less comforting 3.

 _ **Procure a new mobile. Secure the line. Send me the number as soon as you can.**_

Here comes the real test, he thinks, his hand finding his chin and nervously stroking his stubble. Perfect memory might be a blessing in this case, because he can tap into his digital files and picture the exact way Mattie would roll her eyes at that so accurately that it's like she's sitting right next to him. And her reply does nothing to weaken the image, confirming that she really is who she says she is beyond the shadow of a doubt, and that she's not speaking under anyone else's influence.

 _So that you can do exactly what I just told you not to do? Dream on._

Hobb would have jumped at the opportunity to be able to get him on the phone and trace the call.

There are probably dozens of ways – some of them even rational – he could convince her to do what he just asked, but in the end he decides to go with the most honest one, the one that's so raw and desperate he whispers it to himself as he types, and again as he waits for her to answer.

 _ **Please.**_

The others technically don't need oxygen to survive, yet he can almost feel them holding their breath as they all wait, the atmosphere so tense he feels like he will snap any moment.

And then her reply appears on the screen.

 _Did you just use your 'someone kicked my puppy' face on me through the bloody Internet?_

He can't help but laugh out loud, both in amusement because this is such a Mattie thing to say and in relief because he knows it means she's agreeing, even if she hasn't said so yet.

He's so busy typing his response that he misses the way Mia and Max both smile at the sound of his laughter and the way Niska narrows her eyes.

 _ **It's much more effective in person.**_

 _Works just fine online. But I'm afraid a mobile phone's gonna be a bit hard to come by._

Right. He doubts Hobb was kind enough to give her some money when she escaped him, which means she can't buy one, and her face is plastered all over the news, so stealing one would be risky – even more so than stealing one under 'normal' circumstances, that is. She could try and borrow one, but they need to be able to talk for a while, no one would agree to lend their phone to a stranger for an undetermined length of time. If she even managed to convince someone to lend her their phone without telling the police they'd found the kidnapped teenager. And public phones aren't safe enough for the lengthy discussion they need to have.

Well, what he's about to type is something he would have tried to convince her of over the phone anyway, so…

 _ **Let's meet then. You know we need each other.**_

He can help her hide – he's a bit of an expert when it comes to flying under the radar – and she can tell him everything she knows about Fred's location. They work well together, him boosting her confidence and bringing his experience to the balance, her taking things in new directions with her out-of-the-box thinking. He's never been much of a team player – shocking, given his upbringing – but with her, it seems to come naturally.

The program is done narrowing down her location, and once he realises where she is, he thinks that this might be the first sign that what he has in mind will work.

 _This is such a bad idea._

Once again, he thanks his perfect memory for having her tone down to perfection, for letting him hear the exact mixture of annoyance and desperation it held when she was trying to convince her parents to let them stay at their house.

 _ **That's not a no.**_

 _Thanks, Captain Obvious. Where?_

This is an easy question. He doesn't want to give her an address over the Internet, just in case their conversation is not as private as he hopes it is, and thanks to the approximate localisation, he now knows that she's not too far from the one place they have in common that Hobb doesn't know about – not within walking distance, but still close enough to make it work.

 _ **Where you met me.**_

 _Fine! In the meantime, don't do anything stupid._

Had he still been feeling slightly paranoid, the fact the she didn't ask for clarification about the location he suggested would definitely put his mind to rest.

 _ **Me? Never.**_

 _Oh I'm feeling so much better. Go on then, go try to convince your family you're not making a huge mistake. I'll be there as soon as I can, probably tomorrow morning._

Biting back a smile, he shuts down his laptop and waits, knowing that just like Mattie said, someone is going to point out the obvious. To no one's surprise, Mia is the one who does, though her voice lacks conviction – as if she feels that she has to say it, but knows that she doesn't have any chance of convincing him.

"Meeting with her might not be the safest course of action, for either of you."

"I know."

He hopes this is going to be the end of it, but Niska's much less understanding sigh behind him puts an end to that notion.

"She was right, she could have told you about Fred in writing. You don't need to…"

"Yes, I do," he counters impatiently, unwilling to waste more time than is necessary discussing this when they all know he's not going to change his mind. "Now, I need you all to lie low. We shouldn't be together, in case Hobb manages to have her followed and finds us. Stay here and wait until you hear from me."

"What about Harun's location?" Max wonders.

"We don't need him anymore. Mattie and Fred are our priorities," Leo answers, finally ending the connection with Harun's voicemail and pocketing his phone.

"I'm coming with you."

"Mia…"

"I'm coming with you."

This is an argument he's not going to win, so he just nods and heads for the door, closely followed by Mia. But before he can reach it, Maxie holds him back by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Public places are dangerous, Leo."

"We're not going to a public place."

His brother frowns in confusion.

"You told her you'd see her where we met her. That café was…"

"No, I told her where _she_ met _me_."

"Oh," Max comments as realisation dawns on him. "Do you think…"

"She got it, don't worry."

It doesn't seem to occur to him to doubt it, his trust in either Leo's judgement or Mattie's intelligence obvious in the way he smiles then.

"Tell her I said hello."

Of course. Because Matilda Hawkins didn't just help him get Mia back, get under his skin and – apparently – write Hobb out of Fred's code, she also bonded with Maxie. The ease with which she's become a part of their lives is both impressive and slightly alarming, if he's being honest. He's starting to think that she'd even win Niska over if given the chance. Now _that_ , he would like to see.

Right after they've saved his brother – again.

* * *

 **TBC…**

 **Next up: the reunion, at last! If you're even half as excited about it as I am, it means I'm doing a good job with this story :D**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Sorry for making you wait so long after I teased the reunion, life got in the way :( Anyway, I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter, please tell me what you think!**

 **I have a question: do you want to see this go into M territory? If many people don't want any smut in this, either I won't write it or I'll post it as a missing scene later on. I'm not sure yet whether the story will go this way or not, it'll depend on my inspiration, but I thought I'd ask, just in case.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

Avoiding unnecessary movements, walking in straight lines, taking careful turns, being as measured and efficient as possible, holding back her instinctive reaction whenever someone treats her like a mindless machine… All this comes easier than she had expected.

Now the little details that people don't even notice anymore, but that they would definitely notice if they were different… Those are hard. Synths hardly ever blink, for instance. Does anyone realise how hard it is _not_ to blink, particularly when all you can think about is that you're not supposed to blink?

She does seem to be doing a good job, because so far, no one has spared her a second look. Not the bored employee of the Internet café she went to to try and contact the others only to realise that Leo was online – which almost made her blow her cover right then and there with how relieved she was and how frantically she started typing – not the passengers of the two buses she successively boarded this morning in an attempt to get closer to the disused nightclub where Leo showed her the truth about himself, not anyone she saw on the street as she walked from the bus stop to there.

Seriously, if she gets out of this alive, she wants to be nominated for an Oscar.

She also wants it said that she managed to sleep outside, under a bridge, without staining her clothes or messing up her hair, which was no mean feat. She can't afford to be anything less than perfect since dishevelled synths simply don't exist, so she put on her old outfit over her synth disguise to limit contact with the soil, adding a blanket she bought at the supermarket to keep herself warm.

Her night wasn't exactly restful, between trying to stay as still as possible while still getting somewhat comfortable on the uneven ground and jumping at the slightest sound. Not to mention her excitement at finally managing to communicate with Leo, her worry about how she was going to get to their meeting spot, and her nervousness about what they're going to do to get Fred out of Hobb's clutches.

Yeah… she didn't get much sleep.

Luckily, she mustn't look as exhausted as she feels, because a synth with bags under her eyes and yawning every thirty seconds would be bound to draw attention.

At long last, she pushes the door to the abandoned building open, thinking that she will be able to catch a couple of hours of sleep while she waits for the others, feeling safer in a closed space, but this thought vanishes when the sound of the door opening is immediately followed by a hopeful "Mattie?" from inside and she rushes in only to be met with the sight of Leo Elster stopping dead in his tracks as soon as he sees her.

She stops as well with a good twenty feet left between them, wondering what's wrong now, until she sees the way he's taking her in, his expression caught somewhere between stunned and amused, and she remembers her disguise.

"Mattie?" he asks again, this time with a note of disbelief.

She scrunches up her nose and feigns offence, resting her hands on her hips in challenge.

"What? Don't like my new look?"

There's a strangled laugh, and the next thing she knows she's crushed against a body that's much more solid than she would have guessed. All the air rushes out of her lungs in a wordless sound of surprise, but she doesn't care because this is the safest she's felt since even before she powered Fred up and – _oh hell!_ she's so far gone it's not even funny, she realises abruptly with a slight shake of her head. But damn it, she just spent the past two weeks wondering if she'd ever see him again – if he was even _alive_. No one will blame her if she lets herself enjoy this one, tiny moment.

A shudder runs through her, and his arms immediately tighten around her waist and shoulders to bring her impossibly closer. She eagerly returns the embrace, burying her face in the crook of his neck and closing her eyes against the lone tear of relief that is trying to escape.

She was worried when he suggested they meet. She didn't want to risk leading Hobb to him if she'd missed something and he'd managed to have her followed, hence her decision to help the Elsters find their brother from a distance and her reluctance when Leo first asked, but she realises now that it wouldn't have worked. He was right when he told her that they need each other, she wouldn't be able to do this on her own.

Well, that's not quite true. She probably could have managed, but she can't deny how good it feels to know that she's not alone in this.

She breathes in and out deeply, smiling a little when it makes the hair at the base of his neck flutter about and tickle her nose and she feels him rest his cheek against her hair in reaction.

"Leo? How about letting her breathe?" an amused voice suggests, breaking through their bubble, and Mattie starts, because while Leo instantly lets go of her and seems embarrassed when he realises how hard he's been holding her, _she's_ embarrassed that she didn't even notice they had company.

"Mia!" she exclaims, and finds herself in another embrace, one that's much less forceful but just as warm.

"I'm glad you're alright, Mattie."

"Thanks," she says as she pulls back, frowning when a quick look around tells her that she didn't miss anyone else. "Where's Max? Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Mia reassures her with a soft smile at her concern for their brother. "He's with Niska."

"I thought she left to be on her own?"

"I guess we have some catching up to do," Leo comments with a pointed look at her straight hair and bright green eyes.

"True. I'll go first," she offers, getting down to business, knowing that Fred's situation is the most pressing matter right now.

As they settle around the table where they tried to get Mia back what seems like an eternity ago, she gathers her thoughts in order to tell her story in the most efficient way possible, knowing that time is of the essence. Hobb can't mess with Fred's code again, she made sure of that, but it doesn't mean she wants to leave the synth in his hands for any longer than is necessary.

So she skims over the parts about getting Fred to the gas station and getting rid of Hobb's code, knowing that they're not the most important things as far as rescuing him goes. The others let her talk without interruption right up to the moment when she tells them how Hobb found them, and Leo holds up a hand to stop her, looking suddenly tense – well, even tenser than usual, that is.

"Wait. Your friend is under surveillance?"

"Seems so. Why?"

Leo and Mia seem to hold an entire conversation in a single glance, and Leo turns off his mobile phone while Mia takes hers out and dials a number. She walks away from them and starts pacing as it rings, an uncharacteristic display of anxiousness, and Mattie turns back to Leo, confused.

"What's wrong?"

"When we found out about your disappearance, I called Toby. He told me you'd been spending a lot of time with Harun, so I called his mobile and traced it hoping it would lead us to you."

"Shit!" she exclaims, immediately getting why this is bad.

If Hobb was cunning enough to track Harun's car, there is every chance that he thought of Harun's phone as well and put some kind of surveillance on it. Leo, not knowing that her friend was a risk, did not take any added precautions to avoid getting his own phone tracked when he called Harun's. It's entirely possible that he stayed on long enough while his locating program was running that someone could have figured out where he was calling from. He was careful with Toby because he _knew_ that her brother was probably under surveillance, but he didn't think he had anything to worry about with Harun, didn't think that Hobb had been this thorough.

This explains why he just turned off his phone. If Hobb's found the signal once, it will make it easier to do it again if it's on. They can be reasonably sure that he hasn't found this place, otherwise he would be here already given that Leo and Mia arrived much earlier than Mattie, but there is no sense in tempting fate.

"Do you think…" she starts, trailing off when he shakes his head, not in answer, but in anguish.

"I don't know. I don't know. I never even thought about it, I just wanted…"

It's his turn to trail off as his eyes leave hers and settle on a still pacing Mia, but Mats thinks that she knows how that sentence was supposed to end – _I just wanted to find you_. Deciding that now is not the time to address this no matter how much she may want to, she puts on her best reassuring smile.

"It'll be fine. Hobb probably didn't get a chance to trace your call," she reasons. "I mean, you've taken generic precautions, right? Even if you weren't that careful with that particular call."

"Yes," he answers, but she can see that something is gnawing at him, so she raises her eyebrows at him expectantly. He sighs, but relents. "The precautions I've taken, they'll keep anyone from getting an exact location on my phone, but they won't prevent them from narrowing it down."

"How precise are we talking?"

"Enough that Hobb may have put the pieces together."

"How?"

"We were… We went back home."

"Oh," she just says, distantly thinking that Fred was right. "And Hobb knows where that is."

"Yeah."

Which means that once he realises that Leo called Harun from that area, he'll be able to deduce _exactly_ where he was. Anywhere else, and he'd be left with several square miles to search, an area too big to make any real headway, but with this particular place, he'll go straight to the exact address. And though Leo and Mia aren't there anymore, Max and Niska…

"I talked to Niska," Mia announces as she hangs up her phone and walks back towards them. "Hobb found them during the night, but they were able to get out of the house before he got to them. They're trying to lose him now, hiding out in the woods. If they succeed, they'll meet us here. I know you didn't want us to be together, but it's either that or risk getting separated for good."

Nobody asks the obvious question – _What if they fail?_ – because they all know the answer. If Hobb catches them, then they'll just have to rescue them as well as Fred.

* * *

If anyone were to ask Max, he would say that Leo has been in over his head from the very moment an angry woman neither of them had ever seen before asked them what the hell they were doing with her bag.

Leo would probably disagree, but then again, his brother has always lacked perspective, particularly when it comes to his own emotions.

Which is exactly how they find themselves in this situation. Running for their lives.

Again.

At least he's fully charged this time.

And it's not like he can _really_ blame Leo. After all, the fact that Mattie's friend could be under surveillance didn't occur to any of them, and they were all – save for Niska – eager to do everything they could to find her.

Still, he's almost certain that Leo would have taken more precautions, been less impatient and reckless, in any other circumstances. Say if Laura had been taken instead of her daughter for instance.

But now is not the time to dwell on this.

Now is the time to keep running, and to send a silent thank you to Brad for his sacrifice even though as a regular synth, being captured isn't nearly as bad for him as it would be for them.

Though Max felt uneasy about it, Niska didn't have any qualms about ordering the synth to distract Hobb's men while they got out of the house.

They run for hours, going as deep as they can into the woods surrounding the property, which gives them a double advantage – Hobb's men can't follow them with their cars, and unlike them, they don't know the area. Still, they're severely outnumbered, and they need to shake off their followers before they can do anything. They've been hiding for a while now, enough that he can see the beginnings of daylight on the horizon, but their enemies aren't showing any sign of giving up any time soon.

"The lake," Niska suggests out of the blue, and even though they've been running the opposite way since the beginning, Max reacts by changing his trajectory, because this is a good idea.

They can hide in the water, stay down at the bottom until Hobb decides to give up – for now.

They're almost there when Niska's phone rings and she explains the situation to Mia. By the time she hangs up, they've reached the edge of the water and they stop for a moment to give themselves some time to reconsider the idea.

"Charge level?" he asks her, because he knows she didn't charge as recently as he did, and all this running isn't helping them save energy.

"42 %, I'll be fine. You?"

"57."

"Good. Let's go for a swim."

* * *

"How long do you think we should wait to hear from them?" Mattie asks once Mia is sitting next to her son again.

"At least a full day. Which is more than long enough for you to finish your story," is Leo's answer. "How did you escape?"

"With Fred's help. Since Hobb didn't know I'd deleted him as his primary user, he thought Fred had to obey him, so he let his guard down. We took down a few of the guards, took their money, and ran. But then they caught Fred again and I, er, I left him there," she confesses, averting her eyes. "I thought I'd be more useful if I could contact you than if I was thrown back in there with him."

"You did the right thing, Mattie," Mia says in her usual soft voice, giving her an understanding smile. "I'm sure it's what Fred wanted."

It was. Still, Mattie can't quite make herself look at Leo, knowing how much his family means to him and how terrible he must feel knowing that his brother is back in that man's hands. Hell, _she_ feels terrible. She doesn't blame herself, not really, she knows she made the right choice, but it doesn't mean that _he_ won't blame her, that he won't think that she could have done more to help Fred escape with her. Avoiding his eyes seems like the best way to go if she wants to be able to get through the rest of her story without feeling crushed under the weight of his accusation and resentment.

One thing she hates is disappointing the people she cares about. Pushing their buttons, angering them, trying to see how far she can go, that's all fine – she _is_ a teenager after all, a rebellious one at that, at least until a few weeks ago – but disappointment, she doesn't deal well with.

"Anyway, I went to a coffee shop, found out about my _kidnapping_ ," she stresses the word with her signature eye roll, "went to a supermarket to get some supplies, got the disguise idea."

"A crazy one. But clever," Leo comments, and since she can hear the small smile in his voice, she allows her eyes to meet his after all, finding no negative emotions there – at least none that are directed at her. She sighs in relief and mirrors his smile with one of her own, shier and more tentative, as he adds, "Even _I_ almost didn't recognise you. And I have perfect memory."

"Good. I'll probably stay like this until this whole thing is over. It'll make things easier."

"Are you sure you can keep up the act in public?" Leo asks, rather tactlessly, she thinks.

He doesn't get to doubt her after how well she's done until now.

"Hey! I've managed so far!"

"Yes, but you're a very… _expressive_ person. Not that there's anything wrong with that," he adds in a rush when he sees the death glare she's giving him – the one that is kind of proving his point, she has to admit. "I'm just not sure how long…"

"I would stop talking now if I were you, Leo," Mia advises, the humour plain in the tone of her voice and in the way she's so clearly holding back a smile, her eyes twinkling with her repressed amusement at her son's clumsiness and Mattie's annoyance.

"She's right. Let me worry about the acting, and focus on planning your brother's rescue."

"Fine," Leo grumbles, knowing better than to argue when the woman who raised him and his… friend – or something – are teaming up against him. "So, the first thing Hobb is going to do is alter Fred's programming to become his primary user again. This means…"

"Hm. Actually, er, about that," Mattie interrupts. "He can't."

Leo's eyebrows shoot up, not that she can really see with his mop of messy black hair in the way.

"Why not?"-

"Cos I wrote _myself_ in as his primary user. Fred asked me to, to make sure Hobb couldn't mess him up again."

Leo narrows his eyes, trying to process the new information, and eventually gives her a nod.

"Okay. It's going to buy us some time, but if you managed to delete him, he'll be able to do the same with you."

"Nope. See, I sort of rooted my code into your dad's secret program," she reveals, waiting for their reaction.

Which consists of gaping at her, on both sides.

"You did what?" Leo ends up asking after a while, stunned almost speechless, exchanging incredulous glances with Mia, seemingly to check if she has any idea what's going on, because he doesn't seem to be able to grasp it.

"Well, we figured, you know, what's the one thing Hobb wouldn't want to damage? What is he after? The consciousness code, right? So, if he tries to write me out of Fred's code, David's program will be destroyed. Fred's part, at least. I don't think Hobb will be able to isolate it from what he's got saved up, he needs to plug all of you in again to recreate it, so he won't take the risk once he realises what I've done. He'll probably just power Fred down until he can get his hands on the rest of you. And even if he does try it and corrupts your father's message in the process, _we_ have a full copy, so it won't be completely lost. And there is no risk he'll damage Fred even if he decides to give it a shot, I made sure of it, don't worry."

"You… That's… _What_?" Leo sputters, clearly overwhelmed, but this time she's pretty sure it's the good kind of overwhelmed, so she offers him a hesitant smile.

"Sorry?" she says in a small voice, to which he just shakes his head again, a disbelieving chuckle escaping him as he watches her with something akin to wonder.

"Mattie, you're…" he starts, only to trail off once again, unsure how to even begin describing her, so Mia picks up the mantle.

"Brilliant," she finishes for him, prompting an enthusiastic nod from Leo.

The only reaction Mattie can think of is to blush bright red at the praise and mutter, "It was mostly Fred's idea."

The part about her becoming his primary user was, at least. The rest she came up with, and he easily agreed… Even though he didn't know that they have a copy of his father's full code, since he was off when they made it and she decided not to tell him in case Hobb ever accessed his memories again. A decision she's very happy about right now.

"So this means we don't have to worry about Fred transmitting his position or reporting to Hobb once we get him out," Mia muses. "This is really great news."

"Yes, it is," Leo comments before shaking himself out of his surprise and setting up his laptop on the table. "Let's start planning. Mattie, can you show us where Fred is being held?"

"I don't know the exact location, but I can show you where I came out of the woods," she explains, leaning over and quickly typing on the keyboard to bring up a map of the area and show him the spot where she managed to get her bearings. "I can't be sure on the map honestly, but if we go there I'll be able to find my way back."

"No need," Leo replies urgently, nudging her hands out of the way to take her place and open another program.

One that shows a spot with a bright red dot not too far from the place she just showed him. She's not sure which way she went when she was running away from the house, but yeah, it could be the right place. The only question is, how did Leo figure it out _before_ she showed him where she remembers coming out of the woods. How did this red dot get here?

"What's this?"

"Harun's phone."

Her eyes widen at this. She was so sure that Hobb had dismissed him once he'd found her and Fred and that he'd left him at the gas station – which, admittedly, wasn't ideal given that he was unconscious, but would have been much better than this.

"He took him too," she whispers in horror.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	10. Chapter 9

**I didn't do much editing on this because I wanted to post it as soon as possible, sorry for any mistakes. As always thanks to all the readers and reviewers!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Harun.

Sweet, insecure, loyal, underappreciated Harun is in Hobb's hands.

"Mattie. Mattie!"

Leo's voice is distant, only barely recognisable as she conjures up images she never wants to ever have to imagine again, of what her friend could be going through right now – because of her.

Only when a hand lands on her shoulder and gives her a hard shake does she snap out of it, her vision focusing on the here and now, her eyes landing on Leo's worried face.

"There you are," he says with a note of relief in his voice as soon as he notices that she seems to be able to see him now, instead of being lost in her thoughts.

"Harun. He has Harun," is all she seems to be able to think, and she sees Mia flinch, probably at how weak her voice is.

The synth places a hand on her son's shoulder and signals for him to let her deal with it. He has a moment's hesitation, but they all know he has no idea how to react to Mattie's emotional state, so he eventually stands up and takes a few steps back, allowing Mia to crouch down in front of Mats and take her hands in hers.

"Listen to me. Hobb is not stupid. He's had Harun under surveillance for a while, which means he knows that he doesn't know anything. He only took him to ensure your cooperation, but you escaped before he could use him against you. Now he doesn't have any use for him, but he's not going to kill him. It would be too messy. The only thing he can do is let him go. Your friend is going to be fine. Do you hear me? He's going to be fine, I promise."

"You don't get it. Harun is… He's not like me."

"Nobody's like you," Leo mutters under his breath, but the comment that would normally have her failing at biting back her smile doesn't even register and she just continues on with her train of thoughts.

"He's not good at rolling with the punches. He's not daring or resilient. He's not…"

"He's not going to get hurt, Mattie," Mia promises again.

"You can't know that."

Her hesitation is barely there, but it's enough for Mats to close her eyes against the fresh wave of fear it brings.

"We're going to get him out of there. This, I do know."

She opens her eyes again and focuses on Mia, watching her carefully for any sign of doubt and only finding this quiet determination she's admired ever since she met the real personality buried underneath Anita's programming. After a minute, she takes a few shaky breaths and ends up nodding in agreement, hoping that Mia also sees how grateful she is.

"Okay. Okay. So where do we start?"

"First, you need to tell us everything you know about the layout of the house. If we're going to go there guns blazing, we need all the information we can get," Leo explains.

"Actually," Mia says, "The priority should be to get you both new phones. We need to be able to contact you immediately in case something goes wrong. And we should wait for Niska and Max before we start making plans."

"It could take ages," Mattie protests meekly.

"Yes," Mia concedes, "But there is not much we can do until then."

Leo doesn't seem too happy about this either, but he knows that Mia is right. Plus, as much as there are some aspects of Niska's character that honestly worry him sometimes, those aspects may be exactly what they need in order to see some useful things that _he_ might not be able to see while planning. Sighing, he gives her a nod.

"Alright, I'll go buy a couple of phones. You can…"

"I'll do it," Mia says. Anticipating his protests, she adds, "I'm fully charged and you haven't slept in days, Leo. Take advantage of the down time, will you?"

"Fine," he growls after a minute of a silent staring contest, and Mattie has to bite back a smile at the dynamic she saw so many times between Toby and their mother when her brother didn't want to go to sleep as a kid.

The wave of homesickness that hits her like a ton of bricks at the memory is not entirely unexpected, but it's desperately unwelcome when she can't afford to curl into a ball and sob for the family that must be worried sick about her. Before she left the Internet café last night, she sent a secure e-mail to her mother letting her know that she was okay and that she was handling things, but she knows the vague message won't do much to assuage her worries. They certainly wouldn't ease hers if she were in her mother's shoes. But it was the best she could do. It's not like she can go back home when Hobb is still looking for her. She's not sure she would even if she could, to be honest. She wants to help the Elsters see this through. She's sure her mum would understand. Well… She's sure she'll understand after she's done shouting at her for putting herself at risk by fixing Fred. Which, yeah, she totally deserves.

It's a new experience for her, being concerned about what her mother will think and trying not to worry her, but then, their relationship has improved so much in such a short time that the fact that they both need some time to adjust doesn't come as a surprise.

"We should dispose of this one while we're at it. You know what to do?", Leo asks Mia, bringing her attention back to them.

"Of course."

With a small smile, the synth gives her son a hug, and once they let go of each other, she turns to Mattie and, to her surprise, she hugs her as well, whispering in her ear, "Look after him, will you?"

"You won't be gone that long," Mattie jokes, trying to lighten the mood. "A couple of hours at most."

"Just make sure he gets some rest. Try to get some as well."

"I'll do my best."

With that, she's gone, leaving Mats and Leo to look at each other, the atmosphere strangely awkward. Even during the short time when they didn't know each other and were mostly antagonistic towards each other, lacking trust and knowledge of the other's history and motivations, things were never _awkward_. Tense, reluctant and suspicious, but not awkward.

"We should…"

"How did you…"

They both spoke at the same time, and surprisingly, it seems to actually break the tension as they share a small chuckle and Mattie motions for him to go first. There's a small pause before he sits down on one of the overused, plastic-covered couches, getting ready either for a long conversation or to get some rest, she can't really tell, so she stays where she is for now, waiting until she knows whether he's actually going to sleep before she decides what to do herself, even though she can practically feel her eyelids growing so heavy that they're almost dragging her head down by this point.

"How did you do it, Mattie? How did you fix Fred?"

Her lips form a soft smile at the question. Of course that's what he wants to talk about. She should have known.

"I did exactly what you tried to do. Only I was more patient and optimistic than you."

She's not sure how he's going to react – she knows she'd probably be offended if anyone said anything like this to her – but his lips twitch up before he manages to school his expression and fake indignation.

"Hey! I can be patient! Being on the run just doesn't really help with that."

She snorts in agreement, noting that he didn't deny the optimistic part of her statement, but turns serious again as his comment hits home and reminds her that she's on the run now too.

"I know. Which is why I decided to take things into my own hands. I knew it could be done with some time, something you didn't have."

"I'm sure Fred has already thanked you profusely, but…"

"You're welcome," she interrupts before he can embarrass her with his gratitude. "Mia was right, you know. We should get some rest."

"Of course. You look tired."

"That's what every girl wants to hear," she huffs, settling on one of the other couches and trying to get comfortable while ignoring the feeling of being watched.

She's not looking at him, but she's pretty sure he hasn't taken his eyes off of her for more than one second since she walked in. Not that she's any better.

She can hear him tossing and turning, and she holds back a sigh. There is no way she's going to get any rest given how tightly bound she is, and wondering what's wrong with him isn't any help at all. She really wants to sleep, but there's only so much squeaking from an old plastic sheet she can take before she has to ask.

"Hey. You okay?"

The squeaking stops and only silence greets her question, a silence that she interprets as him trying to decide whether to open up, and it shouldn't surprise her any more, this deep yearning for him to do it, for any scrap of information she can get about him – not about his family or his synth parts, not about what he's been through or what he knows, but about _him_ , about the workings of that brilliant mind of his and the emotions behind it.

The few weeks they spent apart haven't done anything to diminish it. If anything, she's greedier than ever when it comes to wanting to know him.

However, no matter how much she wants him to know that he can talk to her, wants him to _want_ to talk to her, she also knows when she's pushed the boundaries – the heavy silence is helping with that, thank you very much – and she's about to tell him to forget about it when he lets out a sigh and speaks up.

"Kinda. Just too many things on my mind."

She pauses, unsure if she should say what's on _her_ mind. She doesn't want to presume anything, because while hoping is okay, presuming is bad, but she knows that he has a guilt complex the size of Europe – one that he usually tries to hide underneath thick layers of anger and hostility – and while there are many things she's not sure of when it comes to him and what he may feel towards her, there is one thing she's pretty certain she's got right.

Gathering her courage, she turns her head towards him, wanting him to read the truth of what she's about to say in her expression. Unfortunately, he's now staring at the decrepit ceiling, so she'll have to make do.

"It wasn't your fault, you know. What Hobb did to me," she whispers in the semi-darkness, prompting him to look at her. "He didn't take me because of you, he did it because I fixed Fred. If anything, _I'm_ the reason he almost got to _you_."

After all, if she hadn't tampered with Fred's code, and if Harun hadn't chosen this moment to reveal his hidden stubbornness, and if Leo hadn't called her friend trying to get information about her, Hobb would never have known that the Elsters had gone back home.

The whole thing was like a catastrophic chain of events that started with _her_.

"Are we going to pretend that I'm not the reason you wanted to fix Fred?"

Her eyes widen slightly at that, not because what he just said isn't true, but because she wasn't expecting him to bring it up, and certainly not so bluntly. Then again, why not? Blunt is his middle name. And while she kind of did it for Fred too, and also because she wanted to see if she _could_ , they both know the main reason had everything to do with the man currently lying on his back and studying her like he's trying to solve a puzzle. Why bother denying it?

She _was_ fully prepared to beat around the bush and avoid the issue for as long as she needed to, but if he's going to be like this…

"Ah. So I'm guessing we're not going to dance around this then?" she asks matter-of-factly, indicating the space between the two of them with a vague, lazy motion of her hand, in case what they're both referring to wasn't clear enough.

She's proud of herself for managing to sound and look somewhat detached even though the roaring hope suddenly has her heart hammering so hard in her chest that he has to be hearing it from his position 15 feet away.

Because Leo Elster is many things, not all of them good, but he's certainly not cruel, and she's pretty sure he wouldn't have brought up her obvious feelings like this if there wasn't… _something_ on his end as well.

And, yes, she may have been kind of hoping before anyway, memories of sweet smiles and quiet admissions flashing before her eyes whenever she was getting discouraged when Fred's code wasn't cooperating with her, but this is suddenly bringing everything back to the surface, reminding her that no, this _thing_ isn't something she dreamed up. It's not a fantasy her mind lashed onto, desperate for a new challenge or for some kind of connection with the most intelligent and complicated person she's ever met. It was there from the start, on her part at least, and whether it started out that way or not, it didn't stay one-sided for very long.

After a few seconds of yet another silence – one that's more contemplative than anything this time – a sound that's half-sigh, half-chuckle reaches her ears.

"Are we supposed to? Sorry, I'm a bit rusty on this kind of things."

" _Rusty_ would imply that you were good at it at some point," she shoots back teasingly without missing a beat, and is rewarded with one of those beautiful, all too rare smiles she swears she could spend hours trying to bring out of him, one that seems to brighten the entire bleak room.

"Good point. Inexperienced?" he suggests. There's another pause – she's gonna stop counting them soon, she swears – and then, "I'm not sure what to say, to be honest."

And she gets it, really. _I like you_ is a bit too juvenile and weak for her taste. _Let's go on a date and see how it goes_ is kinda out of the question, what with the whole evil people trying to capture them thing. And it's way too soon for _Where do we go from here?_

What else can they say? Is there anything that applies to their situation? The 'No idea if we'll make it out of the next few days alive and free' situation?

It's not like she has that much experience either. Not with… Feelings. The physical side of things she has down pretty well, though half her experiences when it comes to this are safely stored away in the 'regrets' box of her mind – and she has to wonder how inexperienced they are talking about with him here, 'cos somehow she doesn't think growing up as he did was conductive to this kind of intimacy – but getting attached is not her specialty. Certainly not that fast, and certainly not to someone like him, whom she's not sure half the time if she should treat like a skittish horse.

Although he seems pretty relaxed now, all things considered, even despite the topic of conversation, which leads to her saying something she'd normally try to keep to herself.

"There's something different about you. You're… Not keeping me at arm's length."

There's the shadow of a smile on his lips at her assessment before it turns into a contemplative frown.

"I was trying not to, before, you know."

She thinks of " _maybe I needed to show someone_ " and " _no you're not_ " and " _I know you can_ " and she nods. Though she was the one who initiated most of their shared moments, there was definitely some effort on his part.

"Yeah, I know. You sucked at it though," she comments in her usual straightforward manner, prompting another, more amused smile. "What's changed?"

"I missed you."

Such simple words, but the way he says them, soft and hesitant, like he's not sure how she's going to receive them – _idiot_ – sends her heart racing once more. It takes her a few minutes to calm the damn thing down and to try to think of something smarter to say than "I missed you too", and by the time she manages, he's tossing and turning again, probably thinking that she's not going to answer, or embarrassed by his admission or something.

Time for damage control.

"Leo?" she calls for his attention.

"Hm?"

"I know you're not great with physical contact, but…"

She trails off when he abruptly stops moving, and she's the embarrassed one this time, wishing she could take it back, or that the floor would swallow her, thinking that she's definitely pushed the boundaries this time, but then…

"I can make an exception."

She's on her feet and crossing the room over to where he is in the blink of an eye. Standing next to the makeshift bed, looking down at him, she pauses, hesitating once more, until he scoots over in obvious invitation and she settles down next to him, mirroring his position, laying on her side and watching him with her eyes as full of questions and wonder as his are, on the verge of something terrifying and beautiful and fun and amazing and dangerous and life-changing and potentially heart-breaking and everything in between.

Realizing she's holding her breath, she makes a conscious effort to let it out and he raises an eyebrow in amusement, his hand tentatively coming up to her face to brush a strand of hair back behind her ear, and there she is again, holding her breath, because not only is the motion sweet enough to almost bring tears to her eyes, it also brings their bodies closer together thanks to the couch's size.

He gives a little shake of his head, breaking the serenity of the moment, and his lips do something that highly resembles a pout, if the thought wasn't ridiculous when associated with a grown, tortured man.

"This is going to be so complicated."

She gives a little shrug, her eyes falling shut of their own volition, a yawn escaping her as her exhaustion officially takes over.

The last thing she hears before she gives into sleep is his quiet chuckle at her mumbled answer.

"Simple is overrated."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	11. Chapter 10

**Time is a rare commodity these days! I was hoping to have this finished before season 2, but at this rate I don't think it's going to happen. Once more, I kind of skipped editing because I was so excited to post this, so sorry if there are too many mistakes, please feel free to point them out.**

* * *

She just can't resist. This is her explanation and she will stick to it if asked. Given the quick way things seem to be escalating, at some point, she's going to have to have a serious conversation with the girl, make sure she's on the same wavelength as her son and won't hurt him. But right now, the only thing she wants to do is keep some kind of memorabilia of this scene – she knows that it will forever be saved up in her mind, of course, but a picture is different… And something she can use for teasing purposes if need be.

Instead of waking them up like she knows Leo would probably want her to so that they can start thinking and planning, Mia slips her phone out of her pocket and snaps a picture of one of the very few peaceful moments her son has had in his life recently. They're not entwined per say, but they're lying close enough together to make the most out of each other's body heat, and Leo's hand is resting lightly against Mattie's cheek while hers is on his hip, just a small contact meant to reassure herself that he's here and they're safe for now.

With a small smile, Mia shakes her head as she remembers that this quiet moment is bound to end sooner rather than later, and she sits on one of the chairs to get the two disposable phones she bought out of their packages and start setting them up and securing them. Mattie stirs just as she's getting started on the second one. She doesn't even take a second to get her bearings, clearly already knowing exactly where she is and why, and Mia has to wonder just how restful her nap was. Still, it was probably better than nothing, and she's thankful when the girl leaves Leo's side as silently as she can so as not to wake him, knowing that he needs all the sleep he can get.

Matilda runs a hand through her unnaturally straight hair as she sits across from her and motions at the phone in her hand, keeping her voice low.

"Need me to do the other one?"

"It's already done, but thank you."

Mattie just nods, her head slightly tilted to the side while she ponders something.

"Sorry about… Hm… I mean…"

This is a new experience for her. As Leo's mother, she's never had to worry about any romantic entanglements. There was this thing years ago that quickly got weird and then downright painful, but it was over before she even realised it had begun, and all she could do was pick up the pieces afterwards.

Besides, it wasn't exactly what she'd call actually _romantic_ , and she has a feeling that _this_ will be very different… And if she's honest with herself, she's finding Mattie's embarrassment just a little bit entertaining.

"What are you apologizing for, Matilda?" she asks softly, playing dumb.

Which is a strategy she should have known was bound to fail. Instantly back to the self-assured, smart young woman that she knows her to be, Mattie narrows her eyes at her, letting her know that she's not fooled, and says her next word almost defiantly, though the sentiment is obviously sincere.

"Sorry you found us like that. It's just…" she hesitates, seems to have some sort of internal debate with herself, and ends up settling on a rather vague yet somehow incredibly apt, "Something."

And well, that's honesty if Mia has ever heard it. She doesn't have much experience when it comes to matters of the heart, but she's amazed at Mattie's maturity and insight, knowing how easy it would be for her to get lost in such new feelings. So instead of teasing the girl further, she acknowledges it with a nod.

"I know. Just be careful with him."

"Wow. I get the protective mother speech? Already?" Mattie asks, half teasing, half genuinely worried.

"You know how complicated the situation is, how complicated _he_ is. So please just… be careful, for both of your sakes."

"Yeah, careful, that's me."

Mia has to smile at the sarcasm tinted in self-depreciation in her voice. She wants to tell her more, tell her how fragile Leo really is, how hard he'll fall once he really lets himself, how all she's ever wanted was his happiness and how she thinks that Mattie could help with that, but not only is it not her place when this is just the beginning of a potential _something_ , they simply don't have time for this. As glad as she is that these two managed to find comfort in each other for a couple of hours, they're all about to be thrown back into something much bigger than them and they need to focus.

"Did you two talk about a plan?" she asks, suspecting that they didn't go to sleep as soon as she left despite her advice.

"No. But I've thought about it a bit. Well, more like half-dreamt I guess," Mattie shrugs, confirming that her sleep was definitely less restful than it should have been. "And I don't think we'll be able to do this quietly. I have no idea where in the building Fred and Harun are being held. I'll share everything I know, but I only saw a few rooms and corridors. Plus Hobb will be expecting us."

"And he probably powered Fred down, so he won't be able to help us," Leo chimes in, his voice rough with sleep, prompting the two women to look at him to find him sitting up and running a hand over his face to get rid of the remnants of sleep.

"So we force our way in," Mia concludes. "How much security does he have?"

"Not that much. Fred thought that perhaps my kidnapping crossed a line for some of Hobb's people and that it's why he didn't bring us to his lab. It's probably why there weren't that many guards, he only took the ones he thought wouldn't care about putting a human in danger. Well, that, and he thought Fred would have to be loyal to him."

"You think we can do it, then."

"I…" she hesitates. It's a lot of responsibility they're placing on her shoulders. "I think so, yes. But if it all goes south…"

"We can't all go," Leo decides abruptly. "If they get us all, Karen will be the only one standing between Hobb and the full code, and we can't be sure he won't get to her. We can't make this easy on him."

"Then _you_ should probably stay behind," Mia notes, her voice firm because she knows that he will not go down quietly on this even though her reasoning is flawless and he knows it.

"Mia…" he starts protesting, as expected.

"She's right, Leo," Mattie cuts in. "Hobb wants you more than anyone else. He still hasn't figured out how your father managed to create the interface between your human parts and your synth brain, and there's nothing he wants more. You know what it could mean if he gets his hands on you."

Not only would there be torture, both of the physical and psychological kind, but she doesn't want to think about what would happen if Hobb did figure out David's secrets, the kind of world it would create. The implications are just too much for her to grasp entirely right now.

"I hope you know you're staying behind as well, Matilda," Mia says before Leo can object again.

Mattie gives her a hard glare for reminding her of something she already knew, but she does end up nodding. She hates it with every fibre of her being, but she knows she'd be a liability. She can hold her own, mostly, but she certainly doesn't have a synth's abilities and they'd spend more time worrying about her than focusing on the task at end.

"This leaves you, Max and Niska. I can't picture you or Max storming a building and taking down guards."

Niska, she doesn't have any trouble picturing.

"We will do what needs to be done."

"I don't doubt it. Still…"

Still, as strong and stubborn and determined as they both are, they're also sweet and terribly _human_. She knows that they _can_ do it. The question is, _should_ they? What kind of impact will this have on them? She knows their lives haven't been easy so far, but this is taking it further. This is akin to going to war, and she's not so sure either of them can handle it. She doesn't think _she_ could, but then nobody is asking her to.

Mia's gaze softens then, going from hard and unrelenting to understanding and grateful as she suddenly understands Mattie's real hesitation. While she is worried about whether they will be able to do it, she's more concerned with the consequences if they do succeed. Taking a step towards the girl, she waits until she raises her eyes to meet hers so that she can see how deeply touched she is.

"Thank you, Matilda."

She snorts, clearly not happy with herself or with the situation. It's a bit unsettling, what with her looking like a synth and supposedly emotionless, but not that much. For someone who's come to know her, it's easy to see the real girl beneath the disguise.

"Yeah, 'cos I'm being so helpful."

"You _are_. Mattie, we wouldn't know where Fred is if it wasn't for you."

"Another way to say this is, Hobb wouldn't have found him if it wasn't for me."

"And our brother would still be powered down and under our enemy's control," Leo counters impatiently, clearly fed up with Mattie's self-flagellation antics on this.

While he's being more abrupt than Mia would like, he's speaking the truth, and she can tell that his harshness is something that might get through to Mattie more effectively than sweet, comforting words, so she holds back her instinctive advice for him to be nice. After a minute or so, the girl takes a few deep breaths meant to help her overcome her guilt and deal with their support, and she nods resolutely.

"So what now?"

"You two need to eat something, and I have to charge. It's all we can do for now, until we hear from Max and Niska."

None of them likes it, being idle when there is so much at stake, but it's not like they have much of a choice.

* * *

Despite their decision to wait until the rest of the Elster family arrives, Mattie and Leo end up bouncing ideas off of each other and exchanging as much information as they can both about the building, the synths' abilities and what they might have to do for the next few hours.

"Do you think they'll be okay? Mia and Max?"

"Like she said, they'll do whatever it takes."

"I know. It's just…"

She trails off, her eyes settling on Mia's perfectly still form. She's not sure how energy saving mode works, to be honest. She always thought synth had no idea what was happening around them when they entered that mode, but when she approached Anita, she instantly woke up, meaning she must have heard her or sensed her presence. The same thing happened when Fred was waiting for her at the gas station. Following her gaze, Leo seems to understand the reason for her silence.

"She can hear us. Not… consciously, but it's all getting recorded and she'll have access to it as soon as she gets out of energy saving mode."

"Great," Mattie huffs.

"It's nothing she doesn't know though, so if you want to say what's on your mind…"

He's got a point there.

"I don't want them to have to go through this."

"You think I do?" he replies, and while it might have come out reproachful, his voice is not unkind, letting her know that he knows this is not how she meant it.

"No, I know. I just wish there was another way."

"Like what? Negotiating with Hobb?"

She can't help but snort at that. They both know that _that_ isn't happening.

"Listen, can we talk in private?"

He raises an eyebrow at that but nods, throwing one last look at Mia before following her out. Leaning against the wall of the building, he watches her as she paces in front of him, obviously gathering her thoughts.

"What is it?"

She sighs and stops to look at him.

"Are we really going to let them go alone?"

He relaxes slightly as he realises that her thoughts have led her exactly where he is right now.

"It _would_ be safer," he starts pointedly, not doubting for one second that she'll pick up on what he's not saying.

"But you don't like it any more than I do."

"No."

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, she suddenly lights up, a mischievous look in her eyes as she lifts a challenging eyebrow at him.

"Have you ever disobeyed her?"

He can't help but chuckle and shake his head playfully, before he stops abruptly as it hits him. Sensing the shift in his mood, she looks at him questioningly. His voice is slightly stunned when he answers.

"No, actually."

"Really?" she asks, and she seems all at once impressed, delighted, and as surprised as he is.

"Really," he confirms, still hardly believing it himself, searching his memory for even one instance of straight-out disobedience.

They've argued, plenty, particularly when it came to him putting himself in danger in the past few months. He's pulled a few pranks as a kid, believe it or not. He's pouted and thrown tantrums as a teenager dealing with way more stuff than any teenager should ever have to. But actually going against something she'd expressly ordered? Doing something she'd forbidden? He can't remember that ever happening.

Hearing an incredulous laugh escape Mattie, he brings his attention back to her, and he can't help but smile at her amusement and obvious enjoyment of the situation.

"Well… First time for everything. You're in luck, Leo Elster. No better teacher than me as far as teenage rebellions go."

"I'm not a teenager," he protests vehemently.

"I'm aware."

Her voice is teasing, and it's like they're not talking about a potential life or death situation. For a brief moment here, he could almost let himself believe that this is for fun, that they're _normal_ and they're just disregarding his mother's wishes because she wants to keep them from going out at night or something.

But then it all comes rushing back, and he turns serious again.

"Listen, we're going to need some ground rules."

She rolls her eyes at him, unwilling to let go of the light, playful mood they got to enjoy for a few minutes.

"That's not how this works. Jeez, you really _do_ need a teacher."

"Come on, Mattie," he scolds gently, prompting her to let out an exasperated sigh but eventually signal her agreement.

"Right. Ground rules. Listening."

"We're staying out of it for as long as possible. None of the others can know. We're only there as reinforcement, staying hidden unless something happens and we have to intervene."

"Is that it?" she asks, seeming relieved by the reasonable demands.

"No. I get that disobedience can be fun and all," he states drily, "But if I tell you to do something, you obey, no questions asked."

"Yeah… No."

Somehow, he knew that that part would not go down too well.

"Matilda. Please. You mother will have my head if I let anything happen to you."

She can't argue with that. However…

"I know exactly how things are gonna go. We'll watch from a distance, things will go south, you'll jump headfirst into danger and expect me not to follow you. I'm not agreeing to this."

Pushing off the wall, he pinches the bridge of his nose as if fighting a headache.

"You couldn't make this easy, could you?"

She sighs and waits for him to look at her.

"Leo… I'm not just tagging along. I'm in this too. I care about you. _All_ of you," she adds in case it wasn't clear, before reconsidering. "Well, maybe not Niska." He snorts at that and she smiles a little before going on. "What I'm trying to say is, I _could_ promise you that I'll do whatever you say. I'd probably even mean it, right here, right now. But once we're there, if something does happen, we both know instinct will take over. It might be to run the other way, it might be to go after you, it might be to stay paralyzed with fear. Who knows? But I do know the promise would be forgotten."

He's thankful for her straightforwardness, but he also kind of wishes she had just lied to him so he could push this problem back to when it will, or may, rise.

"Can you promise me that you'll do your best not to fall into his hands again?"

She beams at him, knowing she's won this round.

"That, I can do."

He sighs in resignation and motions at the door.

"Agreed then. Come on, let's go back inside. I don't want to know what Mia will think once she wakes up and figures out how long we were out of earshot."

She could argue that they've been gone long enough that she will already suspect exactly what he's implying and that they shouldn't deprive themselves of something a bit more _fun_ than their discussion for Mia's sake since she'll assume it's what they've been doing anyway, but she bites her tongue. Leo's been through enough of an emotional rollercoaster these past few days because of her, she's not going to push him on this when he's so clearly hanging by a thread and preoccupied with everything else. No matter how much she wants to.

So she heads for the door, but just as she's walking past him and almost reaching it, he places a hand on her forearm to stop her only to let it fall back to his side as soon as she does.

When she looks up at him, he seems to be struggling with what to say, his mouth opening and closing a few times, the words obviously not coming, before he just lets out another sigh and shakes his head. Though disappointed, she smiles reassuringly at him, letting him know that they can talk more later if that's what he wants.

She's just about to walk away when he leans down and presses his lips to hers. She freezes, caught off guard, but she gets over it quickly when she hears his sharp intake of breath, like he can't believe that he just did that either, and she can't help but smile against his mouth even as her eyes fall shut.

It's short and sweet and so, so soft, just a small contact of their mouths together, a brief catching of her bottom lip between his, nothing to do with the biting and sucking and tongue action and taking and demanding that she's experienced in the past. Yet, somehow, it holds more promise and intimacy than anything she's ever done and it's so him and so _them_ that she can feel her throat closing up with emotion.

He pulls back after only a few seconds, but he doesn't go very far, resting his forehead against hers and murmuring, "Try to stay safe, okay?"

Even though she's still reeling from that quick, innocent kiss, she hears the worry in his voice clear as day, so she leans back to let him see her nod.

"You too."

"I will," he promises.

"Come on. Maybe we can catch a few more hours of sleep before Niska and Max get here."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	12. Chapter 11

**I've been really terrible with updates, sorry. But work is finally slowing down now, so I'm going to do my best to get back to a new-chapter-every-week rhythm starting next week. Please comment! :)**

* * *

They don't actually sleep, too preoccupied with everything that is about to happen to let their minds rest for too long. In between bouts of pacing, Leo keeps glancing at the door, like he can will Max and Niska through it faster. Mattie chooses to wait curled up on one of the sofas, knowing that there's nothing she can do for now and much more adept than he is at accepting it – or at least at staying put until there _is_ something she can do. Thankfully, they don't have to wait that long. Well, a couple of hours can seem like an eternity, but it could have been much worse, she reasons. When the door squeaks open, Mia instantly gets out of energy saving mode and stands up while Leo freezes on the spot, the possibility that they may have been discovered by their enemies weakening his need to run to his family. He doesn't need to worry though, because Max and Niska are the ones who enter.

She notes that Niska doesn't run to him straightaway, most likely because she's busy watching her warily. Mattie does her best to ignore her despite the feeling of her stare burning a hole into the back of her head. She smiles when Leo embraces Max, though the feeling is somewhat bitter. While their reunion warms her heart, just like it did after they saved the synth the last time, she wishes they didn't have to be so relieved every time they find each other again. She wishes that they never had to be separated in the first place.

How many more times are they all going to lose one another? What if the next time is the time when they don't get the happy reunion?

She's still deep in those depressing thoughts when two arms wrap around her, catching her completely off guard. A surprised laugh escapes her as she returns Max's hug, turning teary when he says in her ear.

"Thank you for saving our brother."

"He's not safe yet," she reminds him.

Max pulls back to look at her.

"But he is himself."

She nods, uncomfortable with the gratitude as always, as Niska sneers behind her.

"Yeah, he's himself and in Hobb's hands. Thanks a lot, Matilda."

She whirls around to fix the blonde synth with a glare, the others falling silent as the air in the room shifts from relieved and charged with positive energy to hostile and tense in less than a blink.

While this is nothing she hasn't told herself over and over again, hearing it from someone else stings, enough to put her on the defensive. Which of course means that she goes on the offensive.

"You're welcome," she replies casually. "And what exactly have you been doing to help your family? Start any rumours of a synth attacking humans lately? Add grist to the We Are People's mill?"

At that, Niska looks all but ready to attack _her_ , but before she can, Mia steps in, beating Leo to it by a mere second. Positioning herself between them, she raises a calming hand and looks at the both of them with a half-scolding, half-appeasing glance.

"Alright, enough. We need to focus on Fred. Niska, Max, I assume you need to charge. Let us bring you up to date and then we'll see how to go about rescuing our brother."

Niska throws her one last distrustful look and haughtily walks past her to the nearest power point, and before following her, Max places a soothing hand on Mattie's shoulder, which goes a long way towards relaxing her.

She guesses that this went as well as could be expected.

* * *

In order to save time, Max and Niska don't go into energy saving mode while they start charging, so that they can interact with Leo, Mattie and Mia while they explain what they know about the situation. It's quickly decided that Mia was right and that the synths should go while Leo and Mattie stay put. She has to admire how Leo doesn't react at all, no flinch, no protest, no glance in her direction, nothing that could indicate that he's less than happy with the decision and that he does not intend to obey them on this matter.

He just chimes in every once in a while to give some advice and to remind them that while Fred is supposed to be linked to Mattie, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that Hobb may have done something else to him, so they need to be careful.

Soon, there is nothing left to say, nothing to do but wait for Max and Niska's charge to be complete. Leo leaves for about an hour to get some supplies, and when he comes back, the synths are ready to leave.

There are hugs and promises to stay safe and keep each other in touch, and Mattie doesn't need to look at Leo to feel how tense he is, how he wants nothing more than for them to get on with it quickly so that they can get started on their plan to follow them from a distance.

The first sign that something is amiss comes with Leo's startled "What…" and Mia's soft "I'm sorry, Leo". Before her brain can process the information, Mattie feels something biting into her right wrist and she winces in pain, instinctively trying to take a step back. She can't though, because Niska is now behind her, one hand on her shoulder while the other brings her left arm behind her back and slips something around this wrist as well, tightening it hard. Trashing wildly, she manages to get out of the synth's grip and to turn around, but it's too late, her wrists are already tied behind her and no matter how hard she pulls, she only succeeds in hurting herself.

"Sorry. I'm sorry," Mia repeats, giving both her and Leo a sad look.

"Don't do this, Mia," Leo pleads, part angry, part hurt.

It's only then that it starts to make sense to Matilda. When Max approaches her and motions for her to sit on one of the chairs, she sighs but decides not to struggle. She has no chance whatsoever against three synths determined to keep her here. So she sits down and lets Max tie her legs to the chair, all the while looking at Mia who is doing the same thing with Leo. He's not going down quite as quietly as she did, to the point where Niska has to come to Mia's help and hold him down while she ties him up.

"You heard us," Matilda says dejectedly.

Mia answers with a small, apologetic smile and a shake of her head, busying herself with checking her knots, probably so that she doesn't have to look her son in the eye and see his betrayed look.

"I didn't hear anything. But I know him, and I'm starting to know you. And you both agreed to stay behind way too quickly."

"We can help!" Leo protests desperately.

"It won't help anyone if you get captured."

"We could be reinforcement. Go in if…"

"If the three of us get captured, I don't see how the two of you will be able to do a thing about it. Except get taken too."

"So what? What are we supposed to do if you don't come back? Leave you in his hands?" Leo asks loudly.

Clearly, trying for something logical is a struggle, and Mattie can't help but feel his pain. Knowing that he'll be here, powerless, while his family walks straight into danger has to be harder on him than it is on her. She cares about all of them, yes, but she knows it's nothing compared to the deep, boundless love that links the Elsters together. She can only imagine how she would feel if Soph or Tobs were in danger and she was forced to stay behind. The thought alone sends a shudder down her spine and she knows she has to speak up too.

"Please, Mia. You know that tied or not, if things go wrong, he'll find a way to get to you anyway. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Leo shoot her a surprised, though grateful look at the argument, knowing that it's more likely to get to his mother than his own irrational pleadings, but she's too focused on Mia and on the way she seems to waver to really pay attention to him.

And indeed, Mia suddenly seems torn, most likely because she knows that Mattie is right and that they're only pushing back the inevitable by keeping them from following them right now. Unfortunately, she's not alone, and Niska's impatient sigh and "Come on, Mia, don't let them get to you" reaffirms her decision. With one last "Sorry", she follows the blonde synth out, deaf to Leo's screams behind her.

Matilda flinches at his hoarse shouts that go on long after Max has joined his sisters and left them alone in the abandoned building, but she doesn't comment. If there's one thing that always succeeds in getting her more riled up, it's someone telling her to calm down. She's not going to do that to him when it's one of her pet peeves, and certainly not when he has every reason to be upset.

Hell, _she's_ upset, partly on his behalf, partly on hers.

They did tie her up too after all.

After what seems like an eternity, Leo's cries subside, and she throws him a cautious look, unsure how he's going to react to her seeing him like this. To be fair, she's already seen him at his worst, and he has no reason to be ashamed for his outburst, but with him, you can never be sure.

"Sorry," he murmurs, his voice raw from all the shouting.

"Don't be," she answers quietly. They fall silent for a few minutes, until she asks, "How are your wrists?"

He lets out a humourless chuckle.

"Hurting like hell." Yeah, she figured. They tied the knots pretty tight, and while she's been mostly staying motionless, all his struggling must have made it worse. "Yours?"

She just shrugs, the motion made awkward by her position.

"How long do you think?" she asks abruptly.

Realizing that he's not in her head and that he can't have been following her train of thoughts, she's about to clarify, but he answers before she can, his thoughts having apparently followed the same path.

"Two hours to get there, two hours back. A few minutes to one hour inside depending on how things go."

"So if they're not back here in five hours or so, we'll know something went wrong."

"Yeah."

"And then what?"

"I don't know."

He sounds defeated, which is understandable. He's used to fighting and fleeing his enemies, but being betrayed by his own family like this – even if it _is_ for his own safety – is a painfully new experience.

"Any chance you'll be able to get free?"

"Doesn't look like it. You?"

While she didn't struggle nearly as much as he did, she did test the bounds a bit, and she knows they're strong. So she shakes her head, and he doesn't even sigh. Clearly, he was expecting her answer.

"Last time I was captured, I was about to get tortured. I think the risk of starvation's an improvement."

Her attempt at humour doesn't get her even the slightest smile from him, but then again, maybe that was a bit too much to hope for given the circumstances. He just answers matter-of-factly.

"We'll be found eventually. They're going to make sure someone gets a message about our location if they don't come back. Probably Karen or your family."

"Let's hope for Karen. My family's still under surveillance. They'd lead Hobb straight here. It would sort of defeat the point of leaving us here."

"Laura is smart enough to lose a tail, and Mia knows it."

"Yeah", she sighs.

"What is it?" he asks, hearing the reluctance in her voice.

"It's just… I was trying to keep them out of this."

"To protect them."

"Yes."

"And how do you feel now? Being left behind for your own protection?"

"Like shit," she answers truthfully, before she sees where he's going with this. "Exactly like my parents must be feeling right now. You think I should have involved them?"

He's shrugging before she's even finished her question.

"I can see how it must be for them. Now that we're in the same position and all."

She hums pensively, and takes a moment to mull this over. She ends up blurting out, "Worth it."

"What?"

"It's worth it. I'd rather have them feel like shit than get hurt or worse."

He shoots her an incredulous look.

"Are you taking Mia's side on this?"

"Well, I'm still mad. But I see her point. She'd do anything to protect you. You'd do the same for her. Hell, you had her stay with us while you went to find Fred, remember? Only difference is, since she's more reasonable than you, you didn't have to tie her up."

When only silence greets her reminder, Mattie sighs. The next few hours are going to be incredibly long if he's intent on pouting until the others come back. She wants to tell him that they will be safe, but they both know that there is no way to know and that it would be an empty promise, so she just keeps her mouth shut and crosses her fingers, hoping that he's going to speak up at some point.

When he does, his voice grumpy and reluctant, it's to say something so absurd that she has to wonder if she heard him right.

"If I ever _have_ to tie her up, at least I'll make sure the chair's comfortable." She bursts out laughing, though most of it could be attributed to nerves, and nods enthusiastically. Those things are damn hard on the arse. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this."

"Not your fault," she shrugs.

"We should have known they suspected something."

"We weren't very subtle, were we?"

"Well, subtle is hardly your middle name."

"You can talk!" He just shakes his head a little, amused at their banter, but not enough so that his worry is forgotten. She knows it won't be until his whole family is back safe and sound. Getting serious again, she notes, "Maybe it's better this way, you know? They – _we_ – can't risk you getting taken by Hobb. Even from a purely strategic point of view…"

"I _know_ that," he all but snaps. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No, I know," she replies calmly, as always seemingly immune to his brusqueness. "Still, if keeping you safe isn't a good enough reason, remember that they're also trying to protect the world by making sure your technology doesn't fall into the wrong hands. It has to be some consolation."

"I guess it has to be," he relents.

She hates it, but she's got nothing else. Nothing to say that would make him feel better, nothing that would reassure him about the fate of his family, nothing that would distract him even for a few minutes. So she falls silent, and just gets started on yet another waiting game.

* * *

She wakes up cranky and disoriented, wincing at the bad taste in her mouth and the stiffness in her neck, with no idea where she is or how long she's slept. She has a vague sense of falling asleep a few times, but for no more than a couple of minutes each and every time, which might explain the crankiness. Trying to move reminds her that she can't – and also _why_ she can't – and she's suddenly wide awake, quickly turning her head to look at Leo.

"How long has it been?" He jumps like he had forgotten that she was here, but he doesn't look at her, his eyes fixed on the door with this single-minded determination she's come to expect from him. "Leo? How long?"

"Almost seven hours," comes the painful answer.

She sucks in a sharp breath. This is not good.

* * *

As has already been established, neither of them is great with the waiting and doing nothing part, but it's worse than ever now, when they have no idea what's happening or when they will be free. The situation is just excruciating, and Mattie can't help but glance worriedly at Leo every three seconds, trying to gauge his mood and see if there is anything she can do to help. There isn't though, not when his head is hung in defeat and his mouth is set in a hard line that tells her he will rain down hell on whoever stands in his way… Just as soon as he can move.

After however long, they hear the door open and they both look up hopefully. The sight that greets them is not the best scenario they could have hoped for, but it's far, far from being the worst.

"Mum!" Mattie exclaims at the same time as Leo says, "Laura." And then… "Dad!" "Joe."

God, even Toby is here!

Her mother is hugging her before she's processed her brother's presence, her hug uncomfortable and awkward with her being tied to the chair and all, but Mattie wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. She leans into the embrace, forgetting her worries about them having possibly been followed for the shortest moment.

"Are you okay? Mats, are you alright?"

The urgency in her mother's voice has her biting back a sarcastic retort and she nods against her shoulder.

"I'm fine. I'm okay, Mum. Can you untie me?"

"Oh. Right."

She takes a knife out of her purse – clearly, she came prepared – and cuts her ties while her father does the same with Leo. As relieved and intrigued as she is to see her family here, she can't help but smirk at the awkward, reluctant nod Leo gives her father to thank him and at Joe's answering, tight smile. There is not much she's sure of, but this she does know: those two will never like each other.

Then she spots her brother, and she gives him a casual "Hey Tobs" in greeting, to which he replies with a typical "What's up?", making her grin like a fool. She sees Leo give a half smile at their interaction, like it's not unusual at all for them to meet in abandoned buildings and find people tied to chairs.

Her mother quickly commands her attention again though, and Mattie turns to her to ask, "You weren't followed, were you? How are you even here?"

"We took every precaution, don't worry. Mia sent me a text a few hours ago. She gave me this place's coordinates and told me to come here if I didn't hear back from her in the next three hours. So here we are."

"Yeah… Here you _all_ are," Mattie notes pointedly, the question clear in her tone and in her raised eyebrows.

Laura nods and addresses Leo directly.

"We figured the three of us would be needed if we were to prevent you from going after your family."

He instantly bristles at that.

"You can't…"

"Oh, yes we can! At least until we've come up with a plan."

"Because those have worked out so well lately," he sneers, and Mattie privately thinks that he has a point.

"Yes, well, you're going to at least tell us what's going on. My daughter's face is all over the news and I haven't heard from her in days except for a cryptic email. You're not running away to do God knows what until you've explained."

Well… Her mother does have a point too, she supposes. Leo seems to come to the same conclusion, because he gives a resigned sigh and starts talking. He quickly seems to get lost in thoughts though, his sentences left unfinished and his story telling process getting scattered and confused, so Mattie picks up the mantle, deciding it's better to leave him to his musings if they're to figure out a way out of this. He shoots her a grateful look and stays silent while she finishes the story.

* * *

"Leo?"

He's only vaguely aware of someone calling his name, but he doesn't answer. He's on the verge of… Something. Something that might save them all, if he just manages to solve this last conundrum. And to analyse every single aspect of the problem to make sure he hasn't overlooked anything. Right now, his main conclusion is that he can't do it alone. Which would ordinarily be a problem, but even though he's still getting used to the idea, he knows he can trust those people. He's going to have to ask for Mattie's help, and he knows she will be both willing and able to help. Thankfully, the part he needs help with is not going to put her in any more danger. And, as an added bonus, if his plan succeeds, she will never have to worry about Hobb again.

Shaking his head, he focuses his attention back on the Hawkins family. They're all looking at him expectantly, and when she notices that he's now alert, Mattie gives him a smile that definitely boosts his confidence. He knows they can do it together.

"There you are. Where were you?"

"I'm going to need your help."

Joe glares at him at that – clearly, he was expecting him to leave them alone now. But he hasn't taken into consideration the fact that his daughter is still officially a missing person, and that Hobb is going to keep making their lives a living hell unless they do something about it. Clearly not bothered in the slightest by his announcement, Laura, on the other hand, eagerly asks, "With what?"

"Some programming."

"Really? There's something you can't do?" Mattie asks, half sceptical, half delighted.

He grimaces a little. Now this is something he's not too keen on confessing, but it's not like he has a choice. Ignoring her family, he fixes her with an intense look, making sure she knows how serious what he's about to say is. Her face instantly loses all traces of humour and she gives a solemn nod to let him know that she understands, and that she's in. Taking a deep breath, he admits, "I'm actually not sure I can work on myself."

Her mouth drops open and she stares at him, gaping. Then she shakes her head to get rid of her astonishment and says, "You're gonna have to walk me through this."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	13. Chapter 12

**Remember how I said I was going to post one chapter a week starting 2 weeks ago? Clearly, that didn't happen. Sorry about that. I think I'm going to go with slightly shorter chapters to try and update more often. I'm excited to see what you think of where I'm going with this :) Please don't hesitate to comment!**

* * *

Leo exposes his plan, and as expected, it leaves three stunned, very similar expressions on the faces before him. Laura is the one who recovers first, and he has to say her reaction surprises him.

Just a quiet, final, "Alright."

He is getting used to her doing everything she can to help, but he thought she would be a little more reluctant given what he's asking of her daughter. When he gives her a confused look, Laura just shrugs, and he knows that he's not going to get more of an explanation. Though, looking at the way Mattie's lips are set in a hard line, he thinks that maybe it has something to do with the fact that Laura knows her daughter's mind is made up, and nothing will change it. She probably figures it's best to have her do it with her blessing and help than go behind her back, as they all know she would if she had to.

"So, how do we do this?" Mattie asks, deliberately ignoring her father's less than pleased glare.

Leo starts to answer, but Laura beats him to it, once again saying something unexpected.

"First things first, we're going to find you a hotel room." Both Leo and Joe open their mouths to protest, but she holds up a hand to get them to shut up. "This might take days, and I am _not_ having my daughter stay in this place any longer than necessary."

"But Laur'…"

"This is not negotiable," is her reply to her husband's intervention.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Laura gives a long suffering sigh, but stands up and follows him to the farthest corner of the room, leaving Toby to look awkwardly between them and Leo and Mattie, standing next to their chairs because there was no way they were going to stay seated after the time they spent tied to them.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mattie asks Leo quietly.

"Yes."

"Are you sure you want _me_ to do this?"

It's only then that he understands the real reason behind her question, and he tears his attention away from her parents to look at her, seeing the self-doubt mixed with the determination. He can feel his expression softening, and he makes sure she's looking right at him so that she knows how much he means his next words.

"There is no one else I'd trust with this."

She gives him a small smile in thanks, but still shakes her head.

"Still, it's risky, and…"

"I know you can do it."

"That makes one of us."

"At some point, you're gonna have to stop with the modesty, Mats," Toby chimes in, taking them both by surprise, partly because of his words, partly because they'd half-forgotten he was there. "Everyone here knows how good you are. You're the only one who ever doubts it. He's not trusting you because he doesn't have a choice, he's trusting you because you're the most qualified person for the job in the country."

She gapes at her brother, clearly taken aback, and Leo gives a half smile at the interaction that he knows is unusual for them. The Hawkins all love each other, there is no doubt about that, but until the Elsters came into their lives, they had never found themselves in a life or death situation. They'd never had their bounds tested so harshly, never had need for such a strong show of faith. Their affection was mostly expressed through banter and quiet evenings together, sometimes even antagonistic conversations, not through heartfelt confessions and unconditional support. He's seen enough of the relationship between Toby and Matilda to know that while they would do just about anything for each other, neither of them has ever said so in so many words. There was never any reason to.

The dynamic is pretty much the opposite of his own family's, where everyone is quick to verbally express how much they all mean to each other, but it certainly doesn't make it any less significant.

It does explains Mattie's priceless impression of a fish out of the water right now.

"I… huh… Okay."

Toby and Leo share a knowing smile but refrain from commenting on her uncharacteristic lack of comeback, just as Laura and Joe start walking back towards them, the latter wearing a look that can really only be described as sulking, which is enough to break through Matilda's astonishment and concern and bring a smirk to her lips.

"So, we passed a hotel on our way here. Didn't look like the kind of place where they'd ask for ID. You can get settled there," Laura says, handing them enough money to take a taxi and book a room for a few nights. "We'll go get the code and bring it to you so you can do your thing."

"Thanks Mum."

For the first time since she freed them, Laura seems hesitant, the danger that is still lurking around them finally registering with her, and when Mattie approaches her, she brings her into a fierce hug.

"Just be careful, okay?"

"I promise."

"And you," Laura adds firmly, turning to Leo. "Take care of her, or I swear Hobb will be the least of your problems."

Given the way she's been handling herself since this whole thing started, he doesn't think Mattie needs him or anyone to look after her, but he nods anyway, both to appease her mother and because he does intend to make sure she's safe.

* * *

They make it to the hotel without any trouble. With Mattie posing as his synth, they book a room for three nights. Since the receptionist probably thinks he's here to have his way with his doll and they can't blow their cover, they get a room with a double bed, but neither of them cares enough to make it awkward. They've slept in each other's arms already, and they both know that had they had two beds, they would probably have ended up sharing anyway. Mattie briefly wonders if things will escalate past sleeping, but the prospect of a shower erases all other thoughts, her mind blissfully blank for the twenty minutes she spends under the hot spray. Deciding to give her eyes a break, she doesn't bother putting on her coloured contact lenses afterwards. She can just fake energy saving mode if the hotel staff pays them a visit for some reason. She does however need to straighten her hair again in order to keep up appearances.

With a scowl at the thought, she gets out of the bathroom, leaving it open for Leo to use, and sets to work in front of the mirror near the bed. He watches her at first, clearly amused at her annoyance with the task.

"Are you sure you're supposed to do this with wet hair?" he asks, warily eyeing the small swirl of smoke coming up from the strand she's working on.

She shrugs, not looking at him because she might burn herself if she takes her eyes off of her reflection.

"The notice said either wet or dry hair."

"Okay… Well, good luck with that," he says before disappearing in the bathroom.

When he emerges again, she does risk a glance at him, taking a pause in her mission, and she bites back a smile at his relaxed attire. She found him attractive from the moment she met him – well, maybe from the second time she met him – but she has to say the simple white t-shirt and loose pants look is particularly appealing on him, as she already knew. It's as if peeling off a few of the layers of clothes somehow helps with the layers of suspicion and bad temper as well.

Catching her looking at him, he just rolls his eyes almost playfully at the comments she's holding back, easily reading her mind, and he sets about setting up his laptop on the desk.

"What are you doing?" she asks because she thought there was not much he could do for now.

"Checking the line of communication we set up a few days ago with Mia. Just in case."

"Oh. And?"

He's silent for a few minutes, his fingers flying on the keyboard the only sound in the room as he first secures the connection and then checks his messages.

"Nothing."

She can tell from his tone that he wasn't really hoping, so she doesn't comment, just keeps working on her hair for a while. Then she remembers something that she meant to ask when he asked her mother if she still had her copy of the consciousness code.

"There's one thing I don't get. Why do you need the code? You saw it once already. Perfect memory and all, I thought you _knew_ it."

He answers her distractedly, still focused on his laptop, probably busy putting his plan into words for Mia to read once they manage to get her out.

"I saw bits and pieces before Niska deleted it from the computer. I only saw all of it from the _inside_. It was more about… Emotions and connection than pure coding. It's hard to describe."

She nods, though he can't see it.

"No, I get it. You know what the code feels like, not what it looks like."

He turns to her then, giving her a small smile at her translation of his less than clear explanation.

"Exactly. And for this to work, I need to know what it looks like. We'd probably be able to extract the actual code from my current memories, but it would take time. It will be easier with the original."

"Alright. And in the meantime?"

"As soon as you're done, we'll work on you accessing my memories. A bit of practice before…"

He trails off, but he doesn't need to say it out loud for her to feel the same dread she did when he first explained his plan. Just like the first time, she stomps down on it. If he believes that she can do it, she'll trust him. Hell, even Toby's little pep talk helps, she thinks with a shake of her head. Her brother's support came as a surprise, not so much his blind faith in her itself as the fact that he expressed it the way he did. The shy, awkward boy is turning into a young, self-assured man much quicker than she had ever expected.

It takes her another half hour to finish, and once she does, she drags a chair next to Leo's. Taking this for a sign that she's ready, he plugs himself in and settles on an unremarkable memory, a quiet scene of waiting for sleep to come in his tent after they left the Hawkins. When she sees the images start playing, Mattie takes a deep breath.

"Okay. What do I do?"

He instructs her on how to get from the images to the lines of code that make up the digitalized memory. When the text appears on the screen, she feels her eyes go wide. She knew how complicated it had to be, but it's still a shock to find out that such simple images, a couple of minutes of a memory at most, take up dozens of pages of code. Then again, it's not just the facts, images and sounds that are stored there, but also the feelings associated with them. It makes sense that it would be this comprehensive.

"Your dad really was a genius," she comments absentmindedly, mostly to herself.

"He was," is Leo's bitter, succinct answer.

She winces a little at his tone, knowing that there is too much history there for her to make complete sense of it, even though she's already gathered quite a lot of information from what he's told her and what she's deduced.

"Sorry."

"Don't be," he sighs, and that's the end of that conversation, if you can even call it that. "Now, delete the memory."

"Wait what?" she asks, alarmed. "You mean like… Actually _do_ it? You're not just going to show me how?"

"I need to stay focused to keep the memory at the forefront of my mind," he explains, his eyes still closed. "That's why I don't think I could do this myself."

"But what if…"

"We've been over this, Mattie. You're not going to damage anything as long as you define the perimeter correctly."

It sounds easy when he says it like that. She was prepared to do it in the grand scheme of things because they don't have a choice, but taking the risk just for _practice_ seems a bit extreme. Although, maybe it's better to take a risk with something he won't miss. This way, they'll have some time to think of another plan if she proves unable to do it.

"Fine."

"Remember to erase all traces of the file. It can't look like there's something missing."

"Right. Just like formatting a flash drive. Only _without_ damaging the other files on it."

"Preferably," he confirms cheekily, and she can't help herself, she has to smack his shoulder at that, earning a growl of protest from him.

"Alright," she mutters as an encouragement to herself, selecting the right lines and typing in a command.

It doesn't take long – they always knew that this wouldn't be the most time consuming part of this crazy plan of his – and soon she's ready to hit enter. She hesitates, fingers stilling over the keyboard, and Leo opens half an eye to peer at her from beneath his lashes. He doesn't say a word, neither in support nor to impatiently tell her to do it already, and she's thankful for the small moment to work through this by herself.

It's _a lot_ of responsibility. Playing with someone's – with _his_ – memory like this is not something she ever expected she would have to do, and even if she did everything right and doesn't hurt him, it's still… Uncomfortable. She can only imagine how she would feel if she had someone poking around in her brain like this, someone would could do whatever they wanted to her, alter her memory, or even her personality.

The fact that he's trusting her with this is… a lot to wrap her head around.

She abruptly shakes herself out of her thoughts and hits enter without further consideration. Then she carefully unplugs Leo and looks at him expectantly, holding her breath as he opens his eyes. When he finally focuses on her, he just watches her for a few seconds, and then…

"Who are you?"

Her eyes widen in horror. Though it probably lasts only half a second before she notices the playful glint in his eyes, it feels like an entire lifetime. When she does notice, her jaw falls open in indignation and she moves to smack him again, but he easily dodges the hit, having seen it coming as he's getting well acquainted with her violent streak, and he has the audacity to laugh.

"It's not funny!"

"You should have seen your face."

"Shut up!"

He just laughs again, and though it's a beautiful sound, she would probably appreciate it more if it wasn't at her expense.

"So, what did you delete?"

"You really don't know?"

"No idea," he confirms.

Which means that it worked and she managed to erase both the memory and the memory of them talking about which memory to erase. God, she's getting a headache.

"You were trying to fall asleep in your tent."

His eyes subconsciously dart to the side as he tries to recall it, but comes up empty.

"Nice job."

"Thanks. Though I have a feeling the next time I do this will be way more complicated."

He nods in agreement.

"Yes, but the idea is the same. You'll do just fine."

She may just be starting to believe it.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	14. Chapter 13

**There's another project I'm going to need to focus on for the next few weeks. Hope this chapter will tide you over until the next update!**

* * *

Her mother comes alone, and Mattie feels a little pang in her chest as she realizes that she probably didn't trust her father not to do anything stupid with the code. Even as a moody teenager, she's always admired her parents' relationship, the way they managed to work through their issues and communicate. They've always been a team. There were disagreements and fights, of course, they're both human, flawed and stubborn – especially her mother on that last point, she has to admit it's something she definitely gets from her – but this is the first time she's seen them this at odds with each other. It's not just the fact that her father slept with Anita. Though it definitely played a part in it, this is something that they should be able to deal with. But the Elsters situation has divided them, as was made obvious when her father called the cops after Laura told him she was handling things. They don't seem to be able to agree on anything where this family is concerned, Joe intent on protecting his and Laura intent on doing what she feels is the right thing in the process. The fact that Toby and Matilda herself are both so clearly on their mother's side isn't helping either. Her father was great when they were hiding in that crypt, helpful and quick to react whenever he was needed, but no matter what he does to redeem himself, a broken trust is hard to overcome.

"You alright?" Laura asks, seeing Mattie's sombre look as Leo plugs the external hard drive into his laptop.

She nods and gives her mother a smile that looks anything but convincing. Laura looks like she wants to say something, but changes her mind at the last second and motions at Leo instead, who is too focused on what he's doing to pay much attention to their hushed words on the other side of the room.

"So, this is happening?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Matilda is aware of the futility of denying it or playing dumb, but it doesn't keep her from trying.

"What?"

Her mother gives her a knowing look.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?"

"No, I think you were born a hundred years ago and your eyesight's not that good anymore."

Laura shakes her head at that, though it lacks her usual helplessness or irritation when dealing with her daughter's wit – probably because it's gotten more affectionate than snide these past few weeks, lacking any kind of bite or actual resentment.

"Come on, Mats. Even blind I would have to notice."

It was easier when her mother thought there was something between her and Harun. At least she could deny it honestly, and she knew it wasn't going to lead to the conversation that _this_ seems to be heading towards.

"Mum…"

"I'm not going to give you _the talk_ , Mats. Just… Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I thought you liked him," she notes instead of answering the question – because she knows that her mum wouldn't like the answer.

"There's a difference between liking him and thinking he's right for my daughter, especially considering everything that comes with him. Not to mention the age difference."

Mattie cringes at that because, yeah, it's not something she minds – Leo doesn't seem to either, out of everything that _should_ keep them apart, this seems like a pretty minor obstacle – but someone had to raise the question at some point. She's not surprised her mother is the one to do it. Trying to deflect the original question, she decides to focus on that last point, suspecting that it's not the one that her mother is the most worried about either and hoping that she can steer the conversation towards safer waters.

"You make him sound like an old pervert."

Her mother doesn't rise to the bait, just emphasises her point.

"You know it's not what I meant, but yes, he _is_ older than you. He also comes with a whole lot of baggage. So I'll ask again. Do you know what you're doing?"

"I… no. I have no idea what I'm doing," she finally answers truthfully. "I don't think he does either."

"I never thought he did," Laura half jokes, bringing a small smile to her daughter's lips. "But he likes you."

Mattie can feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment, but she refuses to give her mother the satisfaction of seeing her flustered. Besides, this whole open and honest relationship they have going now is precious to her – not that she'd ever admit it out loud – and she doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize it, so she decides to go with the truth again.

"Yes."

"Maybe I should have brought you condoms."

"Mum!" Mattie exclaims, shocked both at the suggestion and at the casual tone, forgetting all about not letting her mother see her flustered.

Leo's head snaps towards them at the shout, his eyebrows raised in question, and Matilda is pretty sure she's bright red by now. Shaking her head to let him know that it's nothing he should concern himself with, she waits until he turns back to what he was doing and she mumbles, "I can't believe you just said that."

"I was kidding. Mostly," Laura adds with a dry smile. "But yes, safe sex is…"

"I thought you weren't going to give me The Talk," Mats interrupts her in a half groan. "In fact, you already did," she reminds her, wincing at the memories of her 14 year old self's embarrassment when her mother sat her down to explain everything there was to know about sexual relations flashing before her eyes.

"I don't think a refresher course would hurt."

"God, Mum…"

"Fine, fine," Laura relents. "Just promise me you'll be careful on that point as well."

Mattie groans, but, knowing that she will never get her mother off her back unless she agrees, she gives a quick nod.

"I promise."

"Good. Now, I should probably go before your dad does something stupid, like buy a synth because he can't handle dinner."

Matilda snorts at that. They both know that despite the pain and doubts, and the danger they're all still in, neither of them would change a thing about that day Joe unexpectedly came back home with Anita.

That being said, they're not about to do it all over again right now.

"Right."

Her mother gives her a quick hug, and Mattie reciprocates easily.

"I love you, Mats."

"Love you too."

"Keep me updated, will you?" she says, holding up the disposable phone she bought on her way here so that she'd have a way to communicate with them without Hobb knowing about it.

"I will. Give Soph a big kiss for me. And tell Tobs he's a nerd."

Laura chuckles.

"Will do. Bye Leo!"

A grunt is the only response she gets, and both mother and daughter roll their eyes at him. Not that he notices. Shaking her head, Laura leaves, and the sound of the door closing behind her finally brings Leo out of his code-induced stupor. He looks at Mattie with something like confusion, his eyes darting to her side and coming back to her when he finds it empty.

"Did she leave?"

Matilda just rolls her eyes again and sits down next to him, pointing at the green lines on a black screen.

"How is it going?"

"Oh, you know. Just a few thousand pages to memorize."

"Nothing too hard for someone with a photographic memory."

"No," He agrees. "But I still have to read them all and try to figure out a weak spot."

"I could help with that."

He looks like he's about to object, the automatic refusal of any kind of help on the tip of his tongue before he remembers just who he's talking to and he nods. With a quick smile, she drags her chair closer to his and starts reading with him as he slowly scrolls down the tens of thousands of lines.

After four hours, they all start to blur together and Mattie pushes her chair back, stretching her arms over her head with a groan.

"I need a break. Don't you?"

His silence is all the answer she needs. His ability to focus for so long is something she both admires and envies, and she wonders if he was always like this or if it's a result of his most traumatic experiences. She dearly hopes that one day she'll get a chance to talk with Mia about what he was like as a kid and even later on, before everything fell apart. Don't get her wrong, she likes the brooding version of him she's gotten to see so much, and it makes those very few light-hearted moments that much more precious, but she wants to know what he was like when he was… happy. If he ever was.

Knowing that she will be useless if she doesn't do something else for a little while, she shakes the wistful thoughts out of her head and she grabs a couple of coins. She goes down to the lobby to buy two coffees and some snacks from the vending machine, carefully looking around her to make sure she's alone – it wouldn't do for the receptionist to see her buying enough food and drinks for two when he thinks there is only one human in the room. It's scary how easy it is to slip in and out of synth mode now, her movements automatically becoming seamless and calculated as soon as she finds herself in a situation where there could be witnesses.

When she gets back to the room, Leo is still focused on his work – no surprise there – but he does look up when she places the cup beside him.

"Thanks," he says quietly, taking a sip and failing at hiding his shudder when the taste hits his tongue.

Though he doesn't comment out loud, she can't help but chuckle in agreement.

"Disgusting, right?"

He nods and shrugs simultaneously while taking another sip.

"It's caffeine," he says matter-of-factly, and it's enough to excuse the bitterness.

"Yeah. Figured we were going to need it. Did you get anywhere?"

"You mean in the 40 seconds you were gone as opposed to the four hours before that?" he asks wryly.

"I'll take that as a no," she decides, finishing her coffee in one long, let's-get-this-over-with gulp before resuming her position next to him. "What about this?" she asks, pointing at a particular line, and he stops scrolling down to give it some attention. "Change this 6 to a 3?"

He considers it for a minute before acquiescing. As soon as he changes it though, the code starts to corrupt before their eyes and he quickly changes it back, the program righting itself immediately. Both of them let out loud sighs and get back to checking the lines one by one.

Theoretically, the plan is not that complicated. They need to change one tiny part of the code, something small that only they would know about so that when Hobb sees it, he will think that he's got the right code, since they intend to exchange it for the others. Only he won't be able to use it. The problem is choosing this one thing that they can change without making it obvious that they tampered with the program. It needs to be something discreet, so that Hobb won't realise what's happened until it's too late for him to do anything about it. But the code is so complex that the slightest change causes it to corrupt instantly.

They try a few more things in the hours that follow, but each and every time, the change becomes obvious as soon as they do it. Eventually, Mattie gives up – for today.

"I need to get some sleep, and so do you."

"I'm fine," he growls before she's even finished the sentence.

Not like she wasn't expecting the stubbornness.

"You're not, and I'd let it go, only those last two attempts were sloppy and you know it. You're slipping, Leo."

He shoots her a death look, and she just rolls her eyes in response and leaves his side to go lie down on the bed. She's already half asleep by the time her head hits the pillow, sighing in relief at the prospect of the few hours of sleep that will hopefully rid her of her massive headache, but she finds enough energy to look up and try once more.

"You'll be useless until you've had some rest. The only reason you're mad is you know I'm right."

He doesn't answer, and she doesn't push anymore. Let him fall asleep on the keyboard if that's what he wants.

* * *

It seems falling asleep on the keyboard _wasn't_ what he wanted, because when she wakes up, they're tangled together in a mess of legs and arms that has her biting back a chuckle so that she doesn't disturb him. Snuggling closer, she buries her nose in the crook of his neck and decides to let herself enjoy this for a few minutes. It's not long before he stirs against her. She has no idea when he finally decided to join her and she doesn't know what time it is, but when his eyes open, they look small and tired, speaking of how little sleep he got, and she raises a hand up to gently caress his cheek, the stubble that is dangerously close to turning into a beard soft under her fingertips, hoping her touch will ease some of the tension that seemed to return as soon as he became conscious again. His head falls back against the pillow and she lets her hand wander to his forehead, brushing back the messy strands of hair she finds there as he lets out a sigh that sounds almost… content.

"Morning," she whispers, unwilling to break the peacefulness of the moment.

He just hums in answer and brushes his lips against hers before pulling back only slightly. Much like for their first kiss, he looks half-startled, half-pleased, and she has to wonder – again – what's his history with relationships. She's not about to ask now though. Instead, she brings her hand to the back of his neck and tugs a little, bringing his mouth back to her for another kiss. He comes willingly, lips parting tentatively under hers. She takes the lead then, pressing just that little bit harder, eager to find out what it's like to _really_ kiss him. She's been wondering for days – weeks, if she's honest. Is he as focused and intense as he is in everything else? Or shier, softer around the edges, less… deep? Like the rare glimpses of a more carefree man she's been fortunate enough to get?

She finds out quickly when, at the first brush of their tongues, he rolls them over so that she's on her back and he's hovering over her, their bodies not quite touching as he explores her mouth. Despite the first quick movement to get them in this position, he keeps things slow and she's more than happy to follow his lead now, lazily kissing him back with one hand still buried in his hair, the other resting lightly on his waist. He tilts her head back, changing the angle slightly and dragging a noise out of her that she's never heard herself make before, something that highly resembles a purr. He smiles at the sound and she absentmindedly think that she's got her answer.

He's a delightful mix of everything that makes him _him_ and she already knows she's in danger of becoming addicted to the way he kisses.

She desperately wants to find out what kind of interesting sounds _she_ could get out of him, but suddenly, something registers and she just can't help the laugh that bubbles out of her.

He pulls back and she sobers up instantly. In her experience, laughing while making out with a guy? Not good.

But he doesn't look angry or offended, just curious and maybe a little bit amused too, so she smiles up at him, eyes shining with mirth.

"What?" he asks, understandably.

"Sorry," she replies, biting her lip in an attempt to hold back more laughter. "It's just… That coffee really _was_ terrible, wasn't it?"

It seems to take him a few seconds to even comprehend her words, and when he finally does, his eyes widen and his mouth falls open in mock indignation.

"That's what you're thinking about?"

And really, how is she supposed to _not_ laugh again? So she does, the sound halfway between a snort and a giggle – and since when does Matilda Hawkins _giggle_? – and shakes her head apologetically.

"It's kind of hard to miss."

It's his turn to let out a quiet chuckle and he gets off of her, slumping down on the bed next to her as she raises herself up on one elbow to watch him.

"Well, that killed the mood," he notes drily.

"Sorry," she says again, though she's not, not really, not when he's smiling like that and seems more relaxed than she's ever seen him, and not when it couldn't have gone much further anyway, given that they need to get back to their plan.

He gives an exaggerated sigh, and she hopes they can enjoy this for a few more minutes, but she can see the exact moment when the levity of the situation is replaced with burdens, fears and doubts, his face closing off right before he sits up and offers her his hand to get her to do the same.

"Probably just as well. We've got things to do," he reminds her.

"Yeah. Like brush our teeth," she jokes, but his lack of reaction makes it clear that the light-heartedness is indeed gone, so she nods, all business now. "Right. Let's find a way to sabotage that code."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hi everyone! I cannot believe it's been so long, I'm sorry. Work and long visits from friends (+ an awesome summer :D ) got in the way of this story. The worst part is, there are probably only about 5 chapters left given what I have planned, but it's hard to find some time to actually sit down and write them.**

 **I really want to thank everyone who keeps sending me reviews fearing that this story will never be completed, and I promise I will finish it… eventually :)**

 **I've been trying very hard to stay away from spoilers, pics and videos these past few weeks and I promised myself I wouldn't watch the new series until I've finished this, so it's an extra motivation for me to work hard on it!**

* * *

"This is it," Mattie says quietly, part sceptical, part elated. When Leo doesn't answer, she starts doubting and she insists, "This is it, isn't it?"

"Yes, I think so."

She doesn't really understand his hesitation. After spending over three days trying to find some way to alter the consciousness program without making it obvious they'd altered it, he should be ecstatic that they've finally found something that should work. Yet his fingers are still over the keyboard and his gaze is lost in the distance instead of staring intensely at the screen like he's been doing for the past few hours. It's not like they're going to damage it permanently, they made sure to make a copy before they started working on the version they're going to give Hobb in exchange for Max, Mia, Fred, Niska and Harun. So nothing will be lost.

"Shouldn't you be jumping up and down with excitement or something?"

"I do not do that," he replies indignantly, making her smile a little.

She can tell he's faking it, trying to inject some levity into the situation in order to avoid talking about whatever it is that's bothering him, but she decides not to push. She tends to forget it because – well, because she's _her_ , honestly – but despite how close they've gotten, they haven't known each other that long and they've spent even less time in each other's company, and however quickly their bond seems to have formed, it doesn't mean she's entitled to all his secrets. Hell, she already knows more than she ever thought he'd be comfortable with. So she swallows back her instincts that are telling her to ask him what's wrong. Instead, she nudges his shoulder with hers and nods at the screen.

"Go ahead. Do it."

Without further ado, he does, and they both hold their breath as they wait to see if the small change they just made is going to reveal itself instantly or if they've indeed found something that will be easy to hide from Hobb. After what seems like an eternity, nothing happens, and they glance at each other in shaky hope.

"It worked."

Leo nods silently, and suddenly she understands his earlier hesitation. While there is no doubt that he would do anything for his family, the fact that they've managed to accomplish what they'd set out to do means that he's now closer to having to hand himself over to Hobb. It's entirely possible she likes it even less than he does, but he was adamant that there is no other way, and she has to trust him on this. It's not like she could stop him even if she wanted to, though she did try to convince him that they needed to find another solution.

Deciding that maybe being faced with the fact right now may help her win the argument she lost two days ago, she tries again.

"We could just give him the hard drive."

Leo sighs, the sound more resigned than exasperated.

"You know we can't."

She does. They've talked about it at length. If they did that, they would have no guarantee that Hobb would let the others go. He could go back on his word as soon as he had his hands on the code. Now if the code is within Leo, then Leo can force his hand. Refuse to share it until he knows for certain that his family is safe. He's strong-willed enough to all but shut down even if Hobb tried to hack into his memories.

They both tried to think of another way, not only for Leo's sake but also to avoid letting Hobb get his hands on the technology that made this half-human, half-synth combination possible, but they came up empty.

"Could we maybe… I don't know, wait for a couple of days, see what his next move will be if he doesn't hear from you?"

She knows what he's going to say before the words are out of his mouth.

"And if his next move is killing one of them?"

He also knows what she's going to answer to that – that Hobb won't take the risk because killing one of them might mean losing the code for good – and she knows that he'll reply that _they_ can't take the risk that Hobb won't take the risk. So they don't bother going through the motions, instead sharing a tired sigh.

"I really want to tell you that everything will be fine."

He gives a sad smile at that.

"I know."

"There _is_ a good chance it will," she says, even managing to sound convincing.

"And then?"

At first the question confuses her, but then it suddenly dawns on her just how long the Elsters have been running for their lives and how many times they must have thought they were safe at last only to have the rug pulled from under them. She likes to think of herself as someone cautiously optimistic rather than a downright pessimist, but she has to admit she'd probably be discouraged if she were in his shoes.

She knows no words will comfort him, so instead she leans over and gives him a soft kiss. He freezes against her at first, surprised at her taking the initiative for the first time, but it doesn't take him long to slide a hand up to her neck and pull her closer. Taken off guard by the forcefulness of the movement, she has to catch herself by placing her hands on his shoulders. He only kisses her harder, and she gives as good as she gets, determined to let him have this one small moment of oblivion before they have to go through with their plan. She knows that having him pour his frustration with the situation into something physical is probably not the healthiest way to go about it, but they're both emotionally exhausted and talking about it is not going to help any more than it has in the past few days, so she rolls with it.

Besides, it's not like she's not enjoying it. While their first kisses were relatively innocent, this one is anything but. It's all teeth and tongue, and it doesn't get any less passionate when the despair that first brought it on suddenly turns into pure desire. They both feel the shift as Leo's hand come to rest on her hip and she tries to slide her chair closer to his only to have the armrests get in the way, their frustration having suddenly nothing to do with their fears. She doesn't think as she gets out of her seat only to slide onto his lap, and he certainly doesn't object, his arms coming around her and guiding her movements to help her straddle him, their mouths still stubbornly fused together.

She bites his lip and smiles when she hears his answering growl and feels his embrace tighten around her middle, his fingers slipping beneath her shirt where it's ridden up her back. As light as it is, the warm touch sets her on fire and she rocks against him with a small whimper, hoping for more. His hands stop moving for now, but he does release her mouth to trail kisses down her neck, prompting her to throw her head back in approval. Her hands find the hem of his shirt and start to lift it up, her fingers feeling the bare skin of his sides along the way, already eager to wander down his torso and lower.

But before she can rid him of the garment, he pulls back abruptly, his hands leaving her to catch her wrists instead. It doesn't register at first, the reason why she's unable to undress him. Not until he speaks.

"Mattie. Mattie, wait."

She freezes then, unsure how to react, before her flight response kicks in and she abruptly scrambles off his lap, looking anywhere but at him, the rejection hurting more than she'd ever admit. She's never been particularly insecure, but she's not sure how you're supposed to react when you were so obviously making a move and the guy stops you.

"Oh God. Sorry. Sorry, I thought…"

"You thought right," he says curtly before she can imagine the worst, standing up as well to face her.

She does look at him then, her embarrassment fading away in favour of suspicion and curiosity. His pupils are blown wide, the blue barely visible, his breathing is ragged, he's unconsciously swaying towards her, and there is no way she imagined the rather obvious bulge in his pants. They don't leave much to the imagination, to be honest.

Alright then. Clearly she didn't misread the situation. That's good to know.

"Then why…"

He sighs and she decides not to finish her question, knowing that it's obvious enough. If he so clearly wants her as much as she wants him, why did he stop this? He seems torn, though she's not sure if it's because of the effort it took to stop – she knows she wouldn't have been able to, whatever his reasons are – or because of what he's about to say.

His eyes dart away as his hand rubs at the back of his neck before he focuses on her again and explains, "We're going to need to delete this."

She draws a blank for a minute, her lust-addled brain unable to comprehend what he's talking about. When it does make sense, all she can do is utter, "Oh."

"Yes. Oh," he confirms succinctly with a pained smile.

"But… Why? I mean, you can't remember the plan or me doing anything to your memories, but it doesn't matter if Hobb sees us sleeping together."

"Yes, it does," he counters. "He can't…"

Instead of going through with his explanation, he turns away and lets out a frustrated sigh that has her raising her eyebrows at his back.

"He can't what?"

He turns back to her and looks her square in the eye, having obviously come to some important decision.

"You can't be someone he uses against me."

She softens at that. Self-preservation, she gets, but there's a major flaw in his reasoning. She takes a cautious step towards him, unsure if he's going to step back, but he stays where he is and lets her place a quick, light kiss against his lips, one that's meant to comfort him and soften the blow of her next words.

"It's too late for that, Leo. I'm sure he's seen Mia's memories by now. It's more than enough for him to realise we're…" She hesitates, then decides to settle on the one word that seems appropriate to describe what they are, the one she already used when she was talking about it with Mia. "Something."

"Maybe," he admits reluctantly.

"Besides, if your plan works, I'll be safe. And if it doesn't, we'll have bigger things to worry about."

"You're worryingly good at rationalising this," he half-jokes. "But…"

He trails off and she finishes for him, understanding, "But this time, you're the one who killed the mood."

His small smile comes with a shrug.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. We're even. But next time…" He seems to retreat into himself at that, and she quickly realises why. Taking his chin between her fingers, she forces him to raise his head and look at her as she promises, "There _will_ be a next time, Leo. You know that if Hobb doesn't hold up his end of the bargain, they won't let you rot in there. _We_ won't let you rot in there."

He shakes his head at that last part.

"Once this is done, you need to stay out of it." She snorts, but he doesn't let her object before he insists. "I'm serious, Mats. If not for you, for your family. If Hobb agrees, you'll be safe. Your father, your mother, your brother, your sister. They will be safe. Would you really jeopardize that to…"

"To get you out of there? Yes!"

"You won't need to. Let my family handle it."

She bristles and takes a step back, hands on her hips, her temper suddenly flaring up.

"I think I've proved that I can handle it."

He sighs, realizing that this was the wrong thing to say.

"You have. It doesn't mean you should have to. They'll manage, don't worry. I just… don't want to go in there worried about you too."

There's the 'someone kicked my puppy' face she accused him of using virtually when they were communicating via the headcracker site. He was right, it is much more effective in person.

"Fine," she relents. "One condition though." She half hopes he's going to answer 'anything' but of-bloody-course he doesn't, just motions for her to go on, so she does. "Don't leave me in the dark. Once you're out, contact me. Whether you think it's safe or not."

He opens his mouth to object, seems to realise that she's not going to take no for an answer, and nods.

"Alright."

"Good."

At this point, they both just stay standing there staring at each other for a minute, neither completely happy with the arrangement, but both knowing that they're not going to get any better. After a while, Mattie lets her shoulders slump a little, finally coming down from both the passionate and the confrontation highs.

"Shall we start?" she asks, motioning between him and the laptop.

"We have a few things to take care of first."

Right. Like calling Hobb to let him know the terms of the deal. She tenses again as Leo takes out his phone and dials the number, the fear that in spite of their precautions, Hobb will somehow manage to locate them before they've manage to put the last part of their plan in place taking over as she distractedly listens to Leo's side of the conversation. When he hangs up, she barely has any idea what was just said.

"He's in. He's waiting for me. We have three hours."

"Better get to it, then."

"Give me a moment."

She watches curiously as he walks over to one of the bedside tables and rummages through the drawer. When he turns back to her with a pen and paper, she raises her eyebrows in question, but he just walks back to the desk and she peers over his shoulder to see what he's writing. It's just two words and his signature.

 _Trust Mattie._

"Right," she approves. "Good idea."

"Just in case you end up erasing more than you're supposed to."

"No pressure or anything."

He smiles a little at that, and she's grateful for the return of their easy exchanges.

"You and this plan are closely entwined in my mind," he explains. "I might slip a little trying to keep the right memories dominant while you're defining the perimeter."

"So you might forget me entirely? Cos that would just make things awkward when you ask me who I am for real this time."

"Nothing this drastic, don't worry," he tries to reassure as he plugs himself in.

Taking a deep breath, she sits down next to him and lets him focus until he lets her know that he's ready. She then accesses the memories the way he showed her. She's astonished at the number of lines on the screen, but she shouldn't be, really. She saw how long the code was for a minor memory, and this is much, much more.

She has to delete everything. What they just did to the consciousness program, yes, but also every single time they talked about it, every time he thought about it, all the way back to when the idea first occurred to him. He can't have any notion left of what his plan is, so that Hobb won't be able to find out if he finds a way to hack into his brain. The few minutes of him in his tent she used to try her hand at this were child's play compared to that. It was an actual _moment_ , something that had happened in reality, a tangible memory with its own sounds and images, easily conjured up and encompassed.

Mere ideas and thoughts are something else entirely.

Abstract thinking is much more complicated than factual memories. Mattie smiles to herself as she remembers taking Soph to see that Pixar movie, her kid sister laughing so hard when the characters became distorted versions of themselves and hanging on the edge of her seat when they started falling apart, though she was too young to really grasp the complex concepts the whole scene was illustrating.

Abstract thinking was more fun in the movie, she decides sullenly, the confusing lines of code in front of her barely making sense no matter how hard she stares at them.

"This could take a while," she says apologetically, the magnitude of the task before her slightly daunting.

"Take your time," he tries to answer evenly, but he fails to completely keep the tension out of his voice.

She appreciates the effort to put her at ease, but they both know that they _don't_ have time. There is no telling what Hobb will do to Mia, Fred, Max and Niska – and Harun – if they're late and he loses patience.

With another deep breath, she starts working.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	16. Chapter 15

**I'm not even going to apologize because I think this is getting old. I will however say that while I will be on vacation for the next two weeks and cutting myself off from the Internet, the next chapter is almost entirely written, so I should be able to post it soon after I come back.**

 **I've been keeping my promise to myself and I haven't watch season 2 yet, so, no spoilers, please, but, just…** **How was it? *big puppy dog eyes***

* * *

"There is no way I agreed to this," Leo mumbles almost to himself, as if he has forgotten that she's here.

Mattie glances at him out of the corner of her eye. She knew this was coming. They've been waiting in the car he stole for them for about ten minutes, and she could feel his anxiety rising with each passing second.

His little note to himself about trusting her helped, and he didn't fight her back at the hotel when she told him they needed to leave to meet with Hobb, getting down to business as quickly as possible despite having no memories of what his plan was. But now that they have nothing to do but stare into space in a mostly deserted underground car park, he has questions.

"Not only did you agree, you were the one who came up with the idea. For the record, I was against it."

This seems to catch his attention and he turns sharply to look at her. Feeling his stare on her, she gives up the pretence and turns to watch him as well.

"Then why did _you_ agree to it?"

"You can be very convincing. Besides, it's not like I could order you around even if I wanted to."

"No, but you could…"

She shakes her head against what he's about to say and he trails off. They both know that he's right. Technically, she could have manipulated him. Some of his memories are gone and he's depending entirely on her, on her willingness to help him despite her reluctance and the dangers of his plan. And he did give himself a note telling him to trust her. She could have made him believe pretty much anything, either to protect herself, or more likely, to protect him. But she would never take advantage of him this way. He knows it too, or he wouldn't have taken the risk.

"What exactly _do_ you remember?"

She didn't have time to ask before, she needed to work on erasing what she had to and then they had to get to the rendezvous point. But now that they're here waiting for Hobb to show up, she wants to make sure she did everything right.

"The last thing I remember clearly is Niska, Max and Mia tying us up, leaving to go rescue Fred and not coming back, and your parents coming to free us. Then it gets fuzzy. We went to a hotel, I know we needed some time for some reason, but I can't remember why."

"Anything else?"

"It's strange. Some scenes are very vivid," he pauses to throw her a meaningful look and she gives him a small smile, having no doubts as to what those scenes are. She knows he would have liked her to delete those too so that Hobb wouldn't know how close they've gotten, but she managed to convince him otherwise. "But others are vague. We talked a lot and worked on my laptop or… something?" he half-asks.

"Yeah."

"But you won't tell me what it was we worked on."

"It's kind of the whole point. You can't know."

"So the plan is for me to offer myself up to Hobb in exchange for the others' freedom. And we think he'll keep his word because…"

"That's one part of the plan I'm having some trouble with. But _you_ thought he wouldn't need the others once he had you. Since you know the entire consciousness code and everything."

"Makes sense."

"The other part of the plan I don't like is leaving you in his hands. He's supposed to let you go once he gets the program, but, well…"

"He will most likely keep me in order to study me."

"I know you're willing to take the risk, but I am not okay with it."

"Yet you did promise to stay out of it once the exchange is done."

"Of course, _that_ , you remember."

A sound that could almost be a chuckle escapes him before he turns dead serious again.

"Thank you, Mattie."

"Yeah, whatever."

"I'm serious. Whatever the plan is, I couldn't have done it without you."

"How do you know that since you can't remember the plan?"

He shrugs.

'"I wouldn't have involved you if there was another way. It's hard enough having my family in danger. Had I been able to think of a way to deal with this and keep you safe at the same time…"

"You _are_ keeping me safe, Leo. My safety's part of the deal. And I won't be of any use to Hobb once he's got you anyway."

"Unless he figures out… Whatever it is that we did."

"He's a pro at underestimating people. He won't believe for a second that _I_ would have been able to do what I did, even with your help. Stop worrying about me and start worrying about what happens after your family is free. And about keeping your promise."

He looks confused at that.

"What promise?"

She laughs and hits his shoulder lightly. If there is one thing she was very careful about _not_ erasing, it's his promise to contact her as soon as he can.

He smiles to let her know that he was indeed just joking, and this is when they both see the headlights heading their way.

She wants to say something, anything, that would be even remotely encouraging, but she's not sure what that would be. He seems to get it anyway and, giving her one last smile, he leans over to place a light kiss on her lips. Then, before she can react, he's out of the car, hands held up as he hands himself over to his enemy.

She stays in the car and watches as Hobb gets out of his own vehicle and walks towards Leo. They exchange a few words, but as much as she squints her eyes to try and see more clearly, she can't even begin to read Hobb's lips, and Leo's back is to her, so no hope there. Their enemy gets closer to Leo and pats him from head to toe, looking for a concealed weapon. When he can't find any, he gives an approving nod and gestures towards his car. Leo nods and lowers his hands as he follows him. They each open a door and Mattie frowns, confused, until she sees Hobb take Fred's limp body out and start to drag it towards her. She's out of the car in a blink, her concern for the Elsters taking over as she runs to Hobb and manoeuvres one of the synth's arms over her shoulder to help carry him.

"Miss Hawkins," Hobb acknowledges. "I thought you'd be back home by now."

"You thought wrong," she snaps as she lets go of Fred in order to open the back door and to let Hobb drop him in the backseat.

He throws her a strange look that seems almost impressed, either with the fact that Leo let her stick around or that she talked back to him without fear. She doesn't dwell on it though, watching Leo as he carries Mia to the car and carefully sits her down in the passenger seat.

The three of them walk back to the other car, Leo carrying Niska out and into their stolen vehicle as Mattie helps Hobb with Max. It's a bit cramped in the backseat with three synths there, but it will do.

"So anyone wanna tell me why we carried them instead of waking them up and letting them walk by themselves?" Mattie asks.

"He let their batteries reach a critical low point to make sure we wouldn't do anything stupid," Leo explains, clearly furious. "You'll need to charge them before waking them up."

"No worries."

"And please tell them to stay put."

She snorts at that. Like they will listen to her once they hear what they've done. They'll do anything to get their brother back before Hobb can torture him or, worse, figure out how David managed to save him and create an entire world of half-synth, half-human creatures. And who knows if they'll trust her when she explains the plan and what she's done? She's pretty sure Mia will believe her when she tells them that she's altered the consciousness program just enough that Hobb won't be able to replicate it correctly, but Niska probably won't take her word for it, and she'll want to get Leo back to prevent Hobb from creating an army of conscious synths completely under his command.

"I will," she promises. "Not sure they'll obey, but…"

"You would do well to _make_ them obey," Hobb says threateningly.

She rolls her eyes at him and doesn't dignify that with an answer, keeping her eyes on Leo instead. There's a few seconds of hesitation, both wanting to say more but unwilling to let Hobb witness their goodbye, until Mattie just throws caution to the wind and her arms around Leo. He lets out a surprised sound but returns the embrace readily enough even though she can tell he'd rather she hadn't done that. It seems he's still under the impression that their enemy doesn't know how much they mean to each other and that they shouldn't give him anything to use against them, but she knows better and nothing is going to deprive her of this last hug. Who knows when they'll see each other next? She'll let him draw the line at kissing, but she needs the physical contact as much as he does right now.

He ends up pulling away and she lets him, surprised when instead of stepping back right away he lets his forehead rest against her in a gesture that is quickly becoming familiar, and she feels a lump in her throat as the reality of the situation sinks in.

"Take care, okay?" she says shakily, and he tries to smile to reassure her, but it doesn't do much for her peace of mind.

"You too."

"I will. I'll take care of them too," she promises.

"I know."

"As touching as this is," Hobb starts, but doesn't get to finish before Mattie rounds on him, suddenly remembering something.

"What about Harun?" she asks, furious with herself for forgetting about him for a moment.

He gives her a mocking smile.

"You friend has been back home safe and sound for a while now."

"What? But…"

"I kept his cell phone hoping it would help the Elsters find me and do something stupid. Like storm the place and get themselves caught."

"It went almost exactly as planned," Mattie sneers with a gesture at Leo, who didn't get caught with the rest of his family.

Granted, it was only because the rest of his family tied him up to keep him from coming with them, but Hobb doesn't need to know that.

He shrugs.

"All is well that ends well."

"Right. Am I supposed to believe you without proof about Harun?"

"You can call him."

"You still have his cell phone."

"Young people," Hobb sighs with a roll of his eyes. "There is such a thing as house phones, you know. Or you could call your parents and ask them to check on him."

She decides to go with the second option.

Her mother has dozens of question when she gets her on the line, but she manages to dodge them for now and asks her to go check on her friend and to call her back as soon as she can. She hangs up and looks between Leo and Hobb until the latter says, "Time to go."

"I'm not going anywhere until we're sure her friend is safe," Leo protests, and Mattie throws him a grateful look.

"Fine."

It takes about twenty minutes for Laura to call her daughter back and confirm that while rattled, Harun is home and perfectly fine.

"If you're quite satisfied…"

Hobb doesn't finish his sentence, but the threat is clear and they know that he could probably have backup here in under five minutes should they delay the inevitable any more than they already have, so after one last look at Matilda, Leo climbs into the passenger seat of his car.

Though it could have gone much worse, Mattie is too shaken to drive right away, and she takes a few minutes to breathe deeply and try to calm herself down before getting behind the wheel – she needs to do something about this driving license thing, she thinks absentmindedly. She can only imagine how things will go if she gets arrested on her way back home with four unconscious synths.

Right. Now she just has to wake Leo's siblings up and explain exactly why she let him offer himself up to their enemy in exchange for their freedom. She's sure they're going to love this.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	17. Chapter 16

"Matilda!"

She can't say the shout surprises her, but she winces anyway as she gets out of the car and waits for her mum to join her.

As Laura gathers her in her arms, she lets out a deep breath, the weight that's been lodged deep within her stomach suddenly becoming much easier to bear now that she's back in familiar territory.

Don't get her wrong, there were a few moments with Leo that she wouldn't trade for anything in the world, but still, the past few days staying with him have been hard. Between the stress of working on the consciousness code and erasing his memory, not to mention trying to think of another way to free his family, she hasn't slept or eaten well in what feels like forever, and she has to admit she's relieved to be back home and to know that she won't have to deal with what is to come alone.

"Are you okay? Have you been eating?" her mother asks, reading her mind.

Mattie shrugs her concern away.

"Can you get Dad and Tobs? We need to get the Elsters inside. And to get rid of the car. It's stolen."

Laura looks between her and the car window, seeing Mia's head resting against it. She must have missed it before, in her haste to make sure Matilda was alright.

"You have some explaining to do, young lady."

No kidding.

* * *

Mats really wants to help her parents and brother get the synths out of the car and take care of them, but before she can step back outside, a tiny hurricane launches itself at her and wraps itself around her legs with the clear intention of never letting go. She gets a bit choked up at her sister's actions and at how hard she's holding her in spite of her small size, but she manages a bright smile for her.

"Missed you too, Soph."

Laura's face softens at the scene and she nods towards the couch.

"Stay with her. We won't be long."

She doesn't even try to protest. She's exhausted and she really did miss the kid.

* * *

Once the synths are all plugged in and Sophie has been instructed to stay in her room until someone comes for her, Mattie starts talking. It doesn't take too long to explain the situation, though some parts are a bit tricky because she has to text them through both her and her mother's secure phones for her to read instead of saying things out loud because they don't know whether they're still under surveillance. They don't think that's the case, Hobb got what he wanted after all and they're of no use to him now, but until they've had one of the synths go through every possible location for bugs, they don't want to take any chances. Once she's told them everything, Laura gets up with a resolute nod and Mattie watches, bewildered, as she heads for the kitchen.

"What are you doing?"

"There's not much we can do until they're charged and it's going to take a while. You, young lady, are going to shower, eat, put on your favourite pyjamas, and sleep for 8 hours straight."

She opens her mouth to argue, but her father gives her a stern look and she's so stunned by the unusual display of authority that she just sighs and heads upstairs, ignoring Toby's amused look.

Her mother was right, the shower and the smell of her own shampoo do wonders for the headache that hasn't completely left her in what feels like forever, her mind blissfully blank, not even focusing on how Leo must be doing right now. The peace of mind doesn't last long though, and as soon as she's out of the bathroom, she's once again tormented by images of him tied to a table being poked and probed while his memories are put on display for all to see.

She has no idea how she's going to manage to keep her promise. She can't imagine being kept in the dark. She won't put herself in danger, she knows it would be counterproductive when four synths are going to be working on the problem and they're all smarter, stronger and faster than her, plus she's put her family through enough already, but she won't be able to stay completely out of it either. She really hopes that the others will let her help with the planning, even if she won't go with them when they go try to free their brother.

She decided on the drive back home that she would need to wake Mia first and explain the situation to her so that she could take her side against her siblings. Or, well, maybe not take her side, she's sure the synth will be furious with Leo for his plan and with her for letting him go ahead with it, but she'll at least keep Niska from attacking her if it comes down to it.

She's not sure how Max and Fred are going to react. They like her well enough, but the bonds are tight in this family, and no matter how close they've grown or how much they may approve of her relationship with their brother, she knows his safety will always be their priority – as it should be.

The smells coming from the kitchen do manage to cheer her up a bit and she gives her mother a grateful smile as they all sit around the table and start eating.

"So what now?" Joe asks after a while. "Are we out of this? For good?"

Though he tried for neutral, everyone can tell that he fervently hopes they are, and Mattie and Tobs share an exasperated look.

"Yes," Matilda sighs. "As soon as they leave, we won't ever have to see the Elsters again."

Now she's the one who can't keep the emotions out of her voice and her mother gives her a sympathetic smile.

"Doesn't mean we'll never hear from them," Toby says shrewdly, clearly suspecting his sister of having done exactly what she has – making Leo promise to keep her in the loop.

She can't help but smirk.

"Is Mia going to leave again?" a small voice asks, and Mattie feels it pull at her heartstrings.

"It's safer for them if they go, sweetie," Laura answers Sophie softly.

Everyone looks at her in surprise, remembering how fervently she insisted that they stay the last time, and she shrugs, though the motion is anything but nonchalant.

"We tried to help them before," she explains. "Look where that left us. _And_ them."

While no one can argue with that, it's hard to think that in a few hours, this will all be over and they will need to go about their lives as if nothing's happened. Mattie supposes she should have learned her lesson, her mingling got her tangled in a web of danger and abduction the last time, but she did manage to save Fred, didn't she? And then promptly got him thrown into the lion's den, but still.

After dinner, Mattie checks on the synth but her mother was right, they will need to wait before they can wake them up, thanks to Hobb's little plot to get them out of the picture during the exchange. So she goes up to bed and, following her mum's advice for once, crashes for 8 hours.

* * *

Mia opens her eyes, and before she can ask or do anything, Laura says, "Can you run a diagnostic? Make sure Hobb didn't mess with your code?"

The synth looks like she'd rather have a few dozen questions answered first, but seems to realize that her friend's suggestion is sensible. Her eyes get lost for a moment, then she nods.

"All clear."

"Good."

"Where are Leo and the others?"

"Fred, Niska and Max are here, still asleep. Leo… Leo is with Hobb," Mattie confesses with the lump back full force in her throat.

Mia's face, that had started to light up as soon as she heard that her brothers and sister were safe, falls quickly.

"What happened?"

The Hawkins all turn to Mattie, knowing that she's the logical choice to explain the situation since she actually lived it. She gives a resolute nod and starts speaking much faster than usual, trying to get it all out before her nerves get the better of her. Anita/Mia scared her once, when she was trying to understand what was up with her and she became conscious for a couple of seconds, but she's never made her _nervous_. Well, maybe a little when she tried to explain that thing between her and Leo, but it was nothing compared to this.

Then again, she's never had to tell her that her son was their enemy's captive before.

"After you got caught, my parents found us and freed us. Leo had a plan. He needed to see the full consciousness program so my mum went to get it for him. We waited for her in a hotel room. Once he saw it, Leo made a tiny change in his memory of it, something that Hobb won't be able to detect. He'll only _think_ that he's got the right code. So Leo went to give himself – and the false program – over to him in exchange for all of you. He was hoping that once he got the program, Hobb would let him go."

If anyone was expecting Mia to have a fit, they don't know her very well. She just processes, taking it all in in record time and immediately latching onto the one thing that doesn't make sense.

"But Hobb will have access to Leo's memories and see that he made a change to the program."

Mattie's eyes widen. She can't believe that she left that part out in her haste to explain as quickly as possible.

"Oh yeah, that. No. Leo made me erase his memories of the plan."

"You managed to do that?" Mia asks, sounding half impressed, half worried.

"Apparently," Matilda replies, and _she_ sounds half proud, half unsure.

They all let the synth think for a minute. Though she seems very aware that all eyes are on her, her focus is solely on Mattie.

"What are the chances that Hobb will actually let Leo go?"

She swallows hard and exchanges a glance with her mother before turning back to Mia.

"Slim," she mutters.

"Why would Leo think that…"

"I don't know. He seemed pretty sure, but maybe he was just putting up a brave front so that I'd go through with it." She pauses, then adds very quietly. "I'm sorry, Mia."

"Whatever for?" the synth asks, sounding genuinely surprised.

"I… I should have…"

"Stopped him?" Mia finishes for her, her eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Yes?" Mattie asks more than she states.

Logically, she knows that she couldn't have. No matter what he said, he would have found a way to do this without her. Or thought of an even riskier plan. Still, while her brain is guiltless, her conscience is another matter entirely. Mia shakes her head.

"We will talk about this later. Right now we need to fill the others in."

"Right. I'm out," Mattie says, only part joking.

"Come on, Mats. How bad could it get?" Toby asks hopefully.

* * *

Pretty bad, as it turns out.

Fred and Max take it in stride, instantly putting their heads together with Mia to try and find a solution, but Niska… Well, Niska is cold and silent, and while Mattie would have laughed at anyone who tried to tell her that a few weeks ago, she thinks that she'd like her to get loud and aggressive instead. Seriously, her expressionless face and perfect stillness are terrifying. Like a lynx getting ready to strike.

Mattie shifts uncomfortably in her seat, trying to focus on what the others are saying and put in her two cents every once in a while, but she can't help but glance back at the blonde every few seconds, just knowing that an explosion is coming.

And she's right.

After a rather short time that feels like hours of debates and ideas thrown around, each more impossible than the last, the explosion comes.

"Alright, I've heard enough," Niska says coldly, getting up and heading towards the door.

They're all so stunned that she's already opened it by the time she reaches it. No one tries to physically stop her – the Hawkins because they know they wouldn't be able to and the Elsters because they'd rather talk her out of leaving than have to use force. Sill, Max stands up as well and joins her.

"Where are you going?"

"To fix this."

And then she's gone.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	18. Chapter 17

**I caved and watched season 2. Loved it, need to watch it again** **Some of their ideas are kinda similar to what I had in mind for this fanfiction, but not so much that I didn't want to write my own version anymore. In fact, it even gave me a boost! And I felt so bad that I made you wait so long between chapters the last few times that I decided to work my ass off and finished the story. That's right, Little Things is entirely written, so no more months-long hiatuses and no risk of it being left In Progress forever! So yeah, I made you wait a few more weeks for this one, but now I just need to edit, so the chapters will come quickly from now on. 7 (including this one) and an epilogue left!**

* * *

His eyelids are heavy and staying awake is a struggle. While he went with his enemy willingly, the man clearly didn't want to take any chances and as soon as Mattie left with his family, his men came out of the dark corners where they'd hidden and held him down while their boss drugged him in case he decided to try and make a run for it. Nothing too powerful as he wanted to be able to talk to him, but enough that Leo feels out of it and nowhere near ready to stand up.

Add to that the lack of sleep and the constant interrogation he's been subjected to for the past ten hours or so, and he's not in the best of states.

He's lying on his back on a hard, cold table. There are needles and wires all around him and he's not sure how many are actually linked to him and how many are just for the machines. Hobb decided to kill two birds with one stone and hooked him up as soon as they got to his lab, extracting the consciousness program from his memory while studying him at the same time. Leo held out for as long as he could, trying to keep his secrets, but in the end the drugs and exhaustion won out and he knows Hobb now has a copy of his father's code, the one that could give consciousness to any synth and change everything by creating self-aware slaves for any human who can afford them.

He tries to form a fist at the thought, looking for some way to channel his anger and despair, but his fingers are too weak and just shake slightly before he gives up.

He knows if he turned his head to the side, he'd see Brad, the synth Niska found back at their house, the one that apparently belonged to his father. He was captured while Niska and Max were trying to escape Hobb's men. At first Leo was unsure what he was doing here, why Hobb was keeping him here next to him, but then he understood.

Brad is going to be his lab rat. As soon as he's taken a good look at the consciousness program to make sure Leo is not trying to fool him, he'll upload it to the blond synth and see what happens. Then, when he realizes that he's won, he'll either sell the code to the highest bidder or create his own conscious synths.

Leo can hardly believe that he went along with this plan – hell, that he's the one who thought of it, according to Mattie. He would do just about anything for his family and he wanted to get them out of the man's hands, but helping make slaves, knowing that in just a few days or weeks, hundreds, thousands of synths will have thoughts and feelings and opinions and will be at the mercy of their owners… How could he do something like this?

The only flicker of hope that's keeping him from going completely insane is that note he read, the one written in his own hand, with his unmistakable signature on it.

 _Trust Mattie._

He knows there is more here than meets the eye… He just has no idea _what_. There's something he's not aware of, something that happened between the moment when they realized that something had gone wrong with his family's attempt at rescuing Fred and the moment he was in that car with Matilda waiting for Hobb to show up. Something that must make this entire insane idea worth it. Something that Mats must have helped him with, that she approved of. Something that means that their enemy is not about to win this round, despite appearances.

He holds onto this thought with every last shred of hope and energy he has.

"Well, well, isn't _that_ interesting?"

The smugness in the man's voice makes him curious and against his better judgement, Leo manages to open his eyes fully and to take a look at the screen that has been playing broken fragments of memories for the past few hours, Hobb watching and recording everything that Leo is remembering in his half-asleep state. He can't help but wince when he sees Mattie's smiling face looking up at him, her lips swollen from his kiss – a rare carefree moment they shared in a hotel room before… before what, he's not sure, things get blurry after that.

He's been trying so hard not to think of her since he handed himself over, trying to keep her out of his mind so that Hobb wouldn't realize how much she means to him, but one little slip was all it took and even though he immediately shifts his thoughts away and the screen goes dark before showing the harmless picture of a forest, the older man is now looking at him delightedly.

"So she's more than an ally," he notes, and it sounds like he suspected already, having seen Mia's memories when he had her captive. Leo can see the wheels turning in his mind, trying to figure out how he could make use of this confirmation. As if he didn't use Mats enough already.

"You can't touch her," he reminds him, his voice broken and slow, his tongue dry and uncooperative. "Our deal…"

Hobb lets out a long suffering sigh.

"Yes, I know," he relents.

And Leo is hesitant to trust his word on this, but Hobb has gotten everything he wanted – the code, and himself. He has no reason to go after Mattie now.

"Professor?" a voice calls from across the room. "The upload is complete."

Hobb immediately turns from Leo to walk over to Brad. Leo's eyes widen slightly. He thought they were hours away from actually testing the program, but he must have dozed off for a while, because clearly, they're already at the final stage.

"Let's see," Hobb muses as he powers the synth up.

Brad opens his eyes and turns his head to look at the first person he sees.

"Hello," he says in this quiet, even tone that all normal synths share. "My name is Brad. How may I help you?"

"Hello, Brad. Can you tell me what you're feeling right now?"

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

Hobb's back is to Leo, so he can't see his reaction to this, but he can guess it's confused, disappointed, and furious.

"Do you know who you are?"

"My name is Brad," the synth repeats with the exact same intonation as before, completely missing the deeper point of the question.

"Who is your primary user?"

"My primary user is David Elster."

"David's dead," Hobb says, clearly trying to get a reaction out of him.

"This makes Leo Elster my new primary user," Brad answers without emotion.

And suddenly, Leo thinks he's beginning to understand the plan he can't remember, but he quickly buries the epiphany deep in the recesses of his mind, underneath layers of memories and feelings and ideas, making sure that Hobb will not be able to access it.

Good thing too, because right then, the man turns to him and asks angrily, "What did you do?"

Leo just shakes his head, confused, and Hobb strides over to him and stands next to him, dwarfing him threateningly, and Leo really wishes that he wasn't tied to a lab table.

"What did you do to the code?"

"Nothing," he says cautiously.

"Then why isn't it working?"

"I don't know," he replies.

"Was it Miss Hawkins? Did the two of you sabotage it?"

"No, we…"

"Don't lie to me!" Hobb warns, and Leo narrows his eyes at him, suddenly much more alert than he was a few minutes ago.

"I'm not, I…"

Hobb looks ready to strike him, but his assistant calls out almost shyly, clearly wary of disturbing him on the verge of an all-out rage.

"Professor? You may want to take a look at this."

Hobb growls but turns to the screen the assistant is pointing at, and his anger seems to subside in favour of astonishment.

"You're not lying," he mutters to Leo as he looks at his vitals. "You really don't know why the consciousness program failed."

Leo thanks whatever powers are up there that it worked, that erasing his memories means he can honestly – honestly enough to fool the machine – say he has no idea what happened, even though he's starting to suspect he does know – or did know.

"I told you."

Hobb takes a minute to process this, then turns to his assistant.

"Reboot Brad. Send the code to my laptop. I need to figure this out."

Then he's gone, and Leo finally lets sleep take over.

* * *

When he opens his eyes, there is chaos all around him. There is no other way to describe it. A dark smoke is floating over him, the smell of plastic burning is filling his nose, there are sparks right on the edge of his vision, and the noise… God the noise! Metal hitting metal and people shouting and things exploding and glass breaking… And a few words, shouted yet somehow barely audible.

"Here he is… Hand… Must Be… Synth… Come on…" And then "GO, GO, GO!"

And he's being pushed and pulled and he has no idea what is happening and everything is all blurry and he wants to speak up, to ask questions, to figure out what's happening, but his tongue seems to be stuck and all he can do is growl unintelligibly, and he thinks someone is trying to answer him but his brain isn't translating the sounds to sentences that make sense and his legs hurt and his head is pounding and… He's out again.

* * *

The next time he opens his eyes, the sight that greets him is much more reassuring. Mia is leaning over him, wiping his brow with a cold wet cloth, all soft hands and even softer voice, and he's a kid again, being taken care of by his mother, and despite the muffled angry voices he can hear coming from somewhere below him, he thinks that everything is going to be fine. He goes back to sleep, his mind at peace for the first time in ages.

* * *

When Mia walks back into the kitchen, everyone stops speaking to turn to her, and Fred is the one who asks the question that is on everyone's lips.

"How is he?"

"He's going to be fine," she says, and there's a collective sigh of relief. "I don't know what Hobb drugged him with, but it shouldn't have any lasting effects. He will be out of it for a while though and he needs to charge."

"More than enough time for you to tell us how you managed this," Mattie says almost accusingly, turning to Niska.

To say they were surprised when the blonde came back a few minutes ago in an unknown car with Brad turned off in the passenger seat and Leo half delirious but unharmed in the backseat would be the understatement of the century. Mia immediately went to work making sure that Leo was okay and settling him in Mattie's room while the others stayed downstairs at her command. Fred, Max, Toby, Joe, Laura and Mattie started questioning Niska as soon as she was done sitting Brad on the couch, but all she said was that she'd had an idea and she'd tell them the rest later. That hadn't gone too well, particularly with Max and Laura. Max because he was afraid of the lengths his sister had gone to in order to save Leo, and Laura because she wanted to know if they were in danger now that the Elsters were all in the same place – namely her home.

Niska stood her ground, but now that Mia is here, she sighs.

"Look, I'll tell you everything soon, alright? Right now, there's something I need to do. Mats, can I borrow your laptop?" she asks without giving anyone a chance to protest.

At a loss, Matilda turns to her mother, who just shrugs helplessly, letting her decide. One look at Mia, who seems as confused as they all are, doesn't help much. In the end, she goes up to her room. She shakes her head worryingly at Leo's still form, but there's nothing she can do for him right now, so she just grabs her laptop and walks out, making sure to close the door behind her so that they won't disturb his rest with a conversation that is bound to get loud again.

She hands the computer over to Niska.

"What do you want to do with it?"

The synth takes a very familiar hard drive out of her pocket and Mattie's eyes narrow at it even as the blonde explains, "When we entered Hobb's lab, I saw he'd tried to make Brad conscious, but…"

" _We_?" Laura interrupts.

"Long story," Niska says curtly, and Mattie really hopes that this is the part she will explain soon, because she's dying of curiosity. "Of course, the consciousness program didn't work on Brad."

"Because it was the version we'd altered," Mats says.

"Exactly. But it made me think. What was Brad's use? Why didn't we know about him? We've been trying to figure this out since we found him. Leo went through his code half a dozen times but never found anything interesting."

"And you think making him conscious will answer our questions," Mia understands.

"It makes sense, doesn't it?"

"You think that David created another one of us? One we could wake up ourselves?" Fred seems sceptical.

"He may have," Max says softly. "This sounds like something he would have done."

"One way to find out," Niska taunts, holding the hard drive up.

Mattie nods, motioning for her to do it, and the blonde synth gets to work and plugs Brad in. She needs to delete the wrong code that Hobb tried on him first, and this takes a while. Once she's done, she wastes no time in uploading the actual consciousness program.

"It could be a few hours before there are any results," she reminds them as she plugs the hard drive in and types a few commands.

And so they settle in for the wait, Toby getting started on his homework, Niska playing with Sophie, Fred, Max and Mattie talking together, and Mia with Laura and Joe.

Matilda is not sure how long it takes – definitely long enough to chip away at her patience – but eventually Brad gasps, making them all jump to their feet. His eyes open wide as he starts to panic, and most of them take a few cautious steps back.

Not Mia, though. She's in front of him instantly, trying to calm him down. He springs to his feet and backs up until he hits a wall, trying to get as far away from her as possible and the cord is ripped out of the laptop and starts hanging loosely at his side. Mia places a soothing hand on his forearm.

"Brad? Brad, it's going to be fine. You've just become conscious. I know it can be confusing, but…"

"My name is not Brad," he says in a faraway voice, registering his surroundings and realizing that he's not in a hostile environment. "I…"

He trails off, and they all hold their breath, waiting for his next words, but his focus seems to have shifted, his eyes suddenly clear, his expression one that is hard to decipher, caught between wonder and disbelief.

Mattie turns to see what he's looking at and is surprised to see Leo in the doorframe, his stance tired but ready for anything, as intensely focused on the synth as the latter is on him.

"Leo," Brad breathes, and swallows hard, clearly overcome with emotion.

The single word seems to hit Leo hard and he almost staggers backwards under the confused scrutiny of his family and the Hawkins, who are looking between him and Brad trying to figure out what is happening. Righting himself, Leo takes a few steps forward, stops in front of the synth and looks deep into his eyes, as if trying to make sure of something. When the synth nods almost imperceptibly, his eyes shining with unshed tears, answering Leo's unasked question, Mattie gasps as it suddenly dawns on her with a certainty that she will never be able to explain.

A certainty that is confirmed when Leo whispers.

"Dad."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	19. Chapter 18

**Thanks to everyone who is still reading this! Even if there doesn't seem to be too many people, I'm very happy they're here :D**

* * *

The stunned silence seems to last an eternity, and Mattie sees Brad trying to embrace Leo and Leo instinctively stepping out of reach, the hurt look in the synth's eyes unmistakable.

"Leo…"

"You left us," he says so softly that Mattie has to strain to hear the words.

"I…"

"You left us!"

The shout sounds like a gunshot in the quiet room, and before anyone can react, Leo turns on his heels and flees, and while there are hundreds of questions that she'd like to ask the synth if he really is David Elster, her first reaction is to follow his son out and up the stairs to her room. She gets to him half a second after Mia – who must have heard her because she left the door open behind her. Mattie closes it and watches helplessly as Leo paces around the room, distraught, while his mother tries to reach him, both physically and emotionally.

"Leo… It can't be David. David is dead," Mia reminds him hesitantly, as if doubting his sanity.

Mattie winces, thinking that this is not the right way to go about it. Particularly because she's absolutely sure that Leo is right. Something happened when his eyes locked with the synth's, something that spoke to her, something powerful that can only be explained by the bonds of family. She doesn't know how the others missed it. Probably because they didn't want to see it, didn't want to believe. Hiding from the truth might be easier for them, whereas she's a more neutral observer who couldn't _not_ see it.

"Mia," She starts, unsure how she can help but determined to do everything she can.

"It's him," Leo says, his voice broken. "He didn't die, he just…"

He trails off, as if the words are too painful to utter, and Mattie finishes for him in a murmur.

"Built himself a new body."

He nods, but Mia is still not convinced.

"That's impossible."

Leo lets out a bitter chuckle, and Mats, fed-up with the doubts that she can tell are hurting Leo, notes somewhat more harshly than she intended, "More impossible than creating you or turning his almost dead son into a half synth?"

"It's not the same."

"Doesn't seem too out-there to me. Not for the guy who invented AI."

Before Mia can answer, Leo finally stops pacing to look at her.

"Go talk to him. Spend 10 minutes with him and then, come tell me that it's not him."

"Even if it _is_ him, there would be no way to be sure that quickly."

"I'm sure enough for all of us," Leo shoots back.

She looks like she wants to say more, but he turns his back to her to go sit on the edge of the bed, exhausted by the onslaught of emotions, and after one last hesitation, Mia leaves. Mattie just stays standing there, unsure what to do.

After a few seconds, she asks, "Do you want me to go?" He shakes his head, so she joins him. "Don't be mad at her. It _is_ pretty unbelievable."

He turns his head sharply to look at her, all but ready to jump away.

"Not you too!"

"No! No, I believe you, I do. I _felt_ it. The connection between the two of you." He relaxes at that, and she adds, "I think they just don't want it to be true."

Another humourless laugh.

"I get that. But they're gonna have to accept it at some point."

She nods, and they stay quiet for a while, until Leo speaks again.

"Everything we've been through… Everything that happened to us. It all started with his suicide."

"You blame him," she says, and it's not a question.

"I shouldn't, right? I should just be happy that he's alive. But I don't even know why he… There are so many things I should ask him, and…"

She waits for him to complete his sentence, but when he doesn't, she shakes her head.

"It doesn't matter. Whatever his reasons were, you're entitled to your feelings."

She doesn't say it because there is no point in adding fuel to the fire, but yeah, she kind of thinks that it was a dick move too. Killing himself was selfish in a way, but still understandable, she guesses. But _not really_ killing himself and leaving everyone else to deal with the mess his _death_ brought on? Selfish and cowardly.

Her opinion of the man, his genius notwithstanding, is getting worse by the minute. And seeing what his unexpected return from the dead is doing to his son is not helping.

"I should talk to him," Leo sighs resignedly.

"Probably," she agrees. "But you can take all the time you need." She hesitates, then decides to try for some levity. "I mean, hiding out in a bedroom trying to avoid your parents? Very rebellious teenager thing to do. I like it."

He does smile a little at that, which she counts as a great victory.

"This is not me," he admits. "Even as a teenager, I would shout at him or throw things. I never really did the sulking thing."

"To be fair, you've been through a lot lately. I understand the need to hide for a while. I'm sure everyone else does too. And I don't think the drugs are completely out of your system, so you've got a few good reasons to be…"

"Unbalanced?" he suggests grimly.

"Wary," she corrects.

He just nods silently, and she grasps for something to say that could make this better, but she can't think of anything. In the end, he's the one who gives her something to talk about.

"So we sabotaged the consciousness program and altered my memory."

"Yeah. You thought that it would take a while for Hobb to figure out what was wrong and that your family would be safe by the time he realized you'd played him."

"And I didn't even lie to him when I told him I didn't know why it wasn't working."

"Exactly. Worked like a charm, right?"

"And then I was rescued. How?"

"I don't know. Niska disappeared yesterday and came back with you and… well, _Brad_ , a few hours ago. She didn't tell us how she did it."

"We're gonna have to talk to her."

"One problem at a time."

"It's him."

They both jump at the voice, since they hadn't seen Mia come back with their backs to the door. Standing up to face her, they see that she looks astonished, as if her whole world has been turned upside down. Which it kind of has, Mattie thinks.

"It's barely been 5 minutes. I thought 10 wouldn't be enough," Leo notes suspiciously.

"We asked him some questions. Some things only David would know about. It really is him. Leo, I… I don't know what to say."

"Did he explain?"

She shakes her head.

"I came to get you for that part."

He takes a deep breath, getting ready for what's to come, and starts walking towards the door as Mia leaves. When he notices that Mattie isn't following them, he shoots her a questioning look. She shakes her head a bit helplessly.

"I thought you'd want to be with your family for this. Just your family."

"You and your parents have been a part of this family for a while now. More so than my _father_ ," he spits this last word out with both contempt and sadness.

"Leo…" she hesitates.

As touched as she is by his words, especially knowing how much family means to him, and as much as she wants to be there, both to support the Elsters through this and to get some answers, she's not sure she should be.

"Come on, Mats. Don't you want to meet the great David Elster?" Leo asks bitterly.

"Without punching him in the face?"

This brings a small smile to his lips.

"Now that, I would pay good money to see."

* * *

This might be the weirdest reunion ever, Leo notes to himself in a strangely detached way, distantly thinking that he might be facing an all systems shutdown. The Hawkins are all sitting on their couch with Sophie on her brother's lap, Mia, Fred and Max are standing near the window, David/Brad is sitting on a chair, Niska standing next to him, looking ready to pounce if need be, and he himself is behind the couch, the closest he can be to the door in case he needs an escape route without making it too obvious that this is why he chose this position. Though from his two brothers' knowing looks, they're all too aware of it.

"Leo, I'm sorry…" His father starts, but Leo cuts him off.

"We'll get to the apologies later. Explanations first."

If anyone is surprised or disapproves of his curtness, they have the sense not to show it. David takes it in stride and nods.

"I was dying." This raises a few eyebrows, but he continues before anyone can really react. "I had a few weeks left, a couple of months at the most."

"So you decided to start working on transferring a consciousness to a synth body," Niska guesses coldly.

"Copying, not transferring," David corrects. "It wasn't that far off from what I'd done before, with…"

"Leo and Karen," Mattie completes.

"Who's Karen?" David asks.

"The synth you made to replace my mother and said you'd destroyed," Leo says bitingly. "She goes by Karen now. But what you did with her was different. _Beatrice_ was dead by the time you decided to just _make_ another one of her. Her consciousness, her feelings, her memories… It was all just a program. Your version of what she should have been like. _Copying_ someone is something else entirely."

"Not really," his father assures him. "Once I knew that a synth body could be a shell for what was essentially a human mind, it didn't take too long to adapt the technology."

"Is this what it's all been leading to? From the beginning?" Laura wants to know. "All this technology, these incredible things you've done… All for the sake of immortality?"

David looks at her and her family as if wondering what they're doing here, but his synths and son have made it clear that the Hawkins' presence was non-negotiable, so after a few seconds, he decides to just go with it, despite how unhappy he is with the situation.

It seems dear old dad was expecting the family reunion to go a bit differently. With less strangers and less cold shoulders.

"No. Not at first. I only took my research in this direction after I was diagnosed. I copied my consciousness into this body and hid it underneath a normal synth code, knowing that eventually you'd find it and hoping you would try to upload my program to it, which would trigger the consciousness and wake me up."

"By then you'd realized how dangerous this could all be," Mia guesses. "So you destroyed everything."

"And faked your death and left them to deal with the aftermath," Mattie speaks her thoughts, her voice going for neutral but the words as biting as she can make them.

Leo places a hand on her shoulder in thanks for her empathy and she glances at him to give him a brief smile. The exchange seems to escape David's notice, but it doesn't escape Laura's or Mia's and they share a look before refocusing on David.

"I didn't think…"

"No, clearly, you didn't," his son cuts in harshly, and Max attempts to calm him down by saying his name, but Leo just ignores him.

"I never thought that things would go the way they did. I don't know everything, but I do have Brad's memories of being caught by Hobb's men and of what happened in the lab. Is this what it's been like since I… died?"

"Worse," Niska simply says.

"What happened? What…"

"Never mind that," Fred speaks up for the first time. "Whatever we've been through, it's behind us. What I'd like to know is, what now? You got to cheat death and deprived the rest of the world of this chance, and you don't think there will be consequences? You don't think Hobb…"

"Hobb doesn't know. Even if anyone ever suspects that I'm more than a normal synth, there is no way for them to know who I really am. And I couldn't let the rest of the world have this _chance_ ," David emphasises the last word and pauses before continuing, "Can you imagine what the world would be like? Immortality… How could that possibly go well? Not to mention the possibility of copying someone, of having as many versions of one person as they can afford."

"But _you_ deserved it?" Niska asks with such disdain that Mattie thinks that there must be even more history here than she's aware of.

David sighs.

"I was... desperate and foolish. Blinded by the science and the possibilities."

"And conveniently, your vision was restored _after_ you found a way to survive," Mats can't help but comment.

This puts him on the defensive and he finally asks aggressively, "Who the hell are you?" with a gesture that encompasses her parents and brother and sister.

"We're Mia's family!" Sophie exclaims cheerfully, happy to finally understand a question in this conversation, and even Niska can't help but smile at that.

But however sweet the statement was, it doesn't really answer his father's question, so Leo jumps in.

"They're the only reason we're together today. Mats saved Mia and Fred, and her family hid and helped us when we needed it. They've been here for us in a way that you never were. You don't get to doubt them, and you don't get to talk to them like that."

David seems taken aback by his son's vehemence, but a quick look at the synths tells him that they all agree, and he catches a look and a nod shared between Fred and Matilda that lets him know that there is a bond there that he could never have suspected, a trust and friendship that he never thought would form between one of his creations and a human outside of their circle. Because he wants to know the full story of how the two families came together, he's prepared to tone down the hostility, but before he can stir the conversation in the direction he wants it to take, Laura speaks up, not before shooting Leo a grateful look for the way he just jumped to their defence.

"Now that that's settled, could we go back to more urgent matters? Like Hobb?"

"He won't be a problem anymore," Niska says.

"That's what we thought last time. Next thing I know, he's kidnapping my daughter."

There is a collective wince at the reminder, one that only David and Niska don't share.

"It's different," Niska insists. "He's out of the picture, I promise."

"What did you do?" Leo asks suspiciously.

Noticing the way everyone is looking at her, Niska suddenly understands where their thoughts have gone, and she gives an exasperated roll of her eyes.

"I didn't kill him."

"Good," Mia says soothingly. "But how did you rescue Leo and… David?"

"I had some help."

"From…?"

"Does it matter?"

Mats gives an incredulous snort at that, and the blonde shoots her a dark look.

"Please, Niska," Max says quietly. "You can't expect us not to ask questions."

"I can expect you to trust me when I tell you that everything is fine and that you don't need to know more."

"Niska, you are going to tell us what you know," David commands, his voice firm.

She throws him a look that has Mattie thinking that the one she gave _her_ was nice after all. When she speaks, her voice his ice cold, her demeanour harder than ever.

"I don't take orders from you anymore."

She's gone before anyone can think about stopping her.

"Well… This is becoming familiar," Toby comments, making his sister smirk in spite of the tension in the room. "What do we do now?"

* * *

 **TBC…**


	20. Chapter 19

**Please enjoy this light, carefree chapter, brought to you by a nice weekend at home and a moment of unexpected calm in the plot :D**

* * *

Niska has been gone for a few minutes that Joe and Laura spent whispering to each other trying to figure things out and that the Elsters spent looking at each other, at a loss as to what to do now, when Mia's phone rings and she picks up after announcing, confused, "It's Niska."

She listens to her sister for a few seconds and hands the phone over to Leo.

"She wants to talk to you."

He frowns, wondering why she's calling after she just left and taking a mental note to get yet another mobile phone since Hobb took his.

" _Leo, go somewhere private."_

He decides not to ask questions yet. He makes a vague gesture to let the others know that he will be back shortly, and his feet automatically carry him to Mattie's room.

"A few explanations would be nice," he tells Niska.

" _I just… Couldn't be around him anymore."_

"Okay," he just says, getting that this is hard for her – just like it is for every one of them.

" _I need some time to myself."_

"Niska, we…"

" _There are things you don't know. And things that are about to happen."_

"Does this have anything to do with how you managed to get me out of Hobb's hands?"

" _In part."_

"What did you do, Niska?"

" _Listen, you're safe. You're free. Everyone is. Laura and her family included. Grab this chance while you can, Leo. Just… take a break. Spend time with the others without having to run for your lives. Remember what it's like to actually_ live _, alright?"_

"This sounds terribly ominous."

He can imagine her shaking her head.

" _That's not how I meant it. But you need this more than anyone. Promise me you'll at least take a few days to… Recharge your batteries."_ He smirks at the pun. _"Stay with the Hawkins, or go back home, whatever, but just…"_

"Enjoy life, yes, I got that. And then?"

" _Then, things are going to change."_

"For the better?"

" _Maybe not at first. But eventually."_

"You're not giving me much."

" _It will all make sense soon, I promise."_

"You're really not going to tell me?"

" _It wouldn't change anything. There is nothing you can or should do."_

He breathes in and out deeply a few times. This is not something that comes naturally to him. Being on the outside, not digging, letting things happen. Especially when he doesn't know what those things are. But he knows Niska, she can be stubborn. He knows he won't change her mind, and he knows there's nothing he can do to figure out what she's not telling him. He will just have to wait and see.

"Fine. But keep in touch, okay?"

" _I will."_

She hangs up, and he sighs. This did not clear things up at all.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, the questions start flying as soon as he walks back into the living room, but there is not much he can tell them, so he just turns to Laura and Joe.

"I know this is a lot to ask, again, but could we stay here tonight? We'll leave tomorrow, it's just…"

"Please," Laura replies without letting him finish. "You can stay for as long as you want. Especially since you won't be putting us in danger. Right?" she adds with a pointed glance at her daughter.

Mattie rolls her eyes, but she _was_ kidnapped the last time she got involved with them, so he thinks that her mother's concern is not unfounded. Still, he nods in reassurance.

"You're safe. We all are. Whatever Niska did, she says no one is coming after us."

"And you believe her?" Joe asks.

"Yes."

Seeing that this does not seem to completely appease Joe, Fred says, "If there was the slightest risk, she would have let us know."

After a bit of a staring contest between Laura and her husband, the latter caves and turns towards Leo.

"Fine. But if armed men break down our door, you're paying for it."

* * *

Mia and Max decide to tell his father everything that happened after his _death_ , and there are hours of talking that Leo doesn't really partake in, except to add context when there is something that only he can tell because the others weren't there. David seems to have a hard time wrapping his head around the Hawkins' involvement, partly because he can't believe that Matilda was able to figure out so much about Anita and fix Fred, but mostly because it's hard for him to fathom why anyone would have helped them like they did, at great personal risk no less.

In case anyone was wondering, yes, Leo gets his mistrust of humans from him. There is a reason David Elster got so wrapped up in his research about artificial intelligence in the first place. He was never great around people.

It's almost night by the time his father decides that he knows most of what he wanted to know and informs them that his battery is low and he needs to charge. Toby shows him to a spot he can use, and Laura only then seems to realize that no one has eaten anything in a while. Mia instinctively offers to help with dinner. When Laura starts to protest, Leo can't help but smile. Mattie's mother seems to think that this is some leftover behaviour from Anita's programming, but he knows better. She was always like this. And she loves to cook. It's not even something his father programmed her for. He did implant the ability in her code, but the actual enjoyment is all hers.

Sophie follows them to the kitchen and she is followed by Max while Fred announces that he needs to charge too and disappears down the hallway. Joe tells them that he needs to make a few calls for work, and Mattie throws him a curious look since this leaves her alone with Leo and she thought he'd want to avoid this. But she's not about to complain.

"How are you holding up?" she asks Leo as soon as everyone else is gone, sliding closer to him on the couch.

"I… am."

"It's a start."

She tentatively takes his hand in hers and entwines their fingers together, unsure how he's going to receive the gesture. He's okay with physical contact around his family, but around hers? She's not so sure. But today has been particularly hard on him and there is no way she is not going to show him that she's here.

He seems to sink deeper into the cushions then, finally leaning against the back of the couch, as if the small contact is the signal he was waiting for to finally let go of some of his tension. His shoulders lose their defensive stiffness and he sighs, his thumb rubbing soft circles against the back of her hand.

"What do you make of him?" he asks suddenly.

"Your father? Still wanna punch him."

He chuckles but shakes his head, not looking at her but clearly attuned to her every movement.

"I'm serious."

She lets out a sigh.

"Just like I thought, he's the most brilliant man I'll ever meet. Next to you," she adds quickly when he throws her a mock offended look, and they both smile a little. "Apart from that, well, let's say the vocabulary I have in mind is not very flattering. What was it like, growing up as his son?"

"Lonely. Until Mia."

She muses over this for a while.

"You know… Maybe this is something to hold onto."

"What is?"

"Mia and your brothers and sister."

"What do you think I've been doing for the past 15 years?"

"No, I mean, not just _them_ , but the fact that he created them. He may not have been able to love his son like a father should, but he did love you enough to make sure you _were_ loved."

He looks at her strangely, considering.

"I never thought of it like that."

Mattie shrugs.

"He's not winning any father-of-the-year awards anytime soon. But he did do this one thing right at least."

His answer is to place a soft kiss on her lips in thanks.

Across the room, standing in the doorframe, Mia and Laura stop watching when Leo and Mattie settle deeply into the couch and just close their eyes for a moment, enjoying their little bubble of peace and quiet. They couldn't hear what they were saying, but it's clear how agitated Leo was and how much calmer he became as soon as Mats took his hand. The two mothers turn to each other.

"They're good for each other," Mia notes softly.

"I know."

"Still, should we talk to them?"

"I already did. Kind of. You?"

"Kind of," the synth echoes with a small smile.

"Then I guess the rest is up to them."

* * *

Once dinner is ready, Max and Mia both decide to leave the humans to it and to take advantage of the down time to charge as well, though their batteries are not that low. While they do trust Niska's words that things should be quiet for a while, experience has taught them to be careful with their charge levels, just in case. And so the Hawkins all sit together with Leo, and if he expected any awkwardness, he doesn't know them very well. They've heard enough all day that they don't have too many questions left, and none that can't wait until morning, so they stir the conversation towards mundane topics. It takes him a while to relax, to realize that the other shoe is not going to drop and that he's not going to have to apologize for his father and for everything that happened these past few days, but he does eventually and manages to appreciate the meal and the moment. Mattie seems to sense the change in his mood and rewards him with a quick squeeze of his forearm while Sophie regales them with the tale of something that happened at school the day before.

"School!" Matilda exclaims abruptly. "What about it?"

"Oh," Laura realizes. "I haven't even told them you were back yet."

"They still think I must be in some pervert's basement?" she asks incredulously, looking at her father and brother for confirmation.

Laura turns to Joe.

"You didn't call them, did you?"

He thinks for a minute, then comes to a conclusion and shakes his head.

"Oops?" Toby offers.

And they burst out laughing. Even Leo joins in, the absurdity of worrying about something as unexciting as school after everything they've been through breaking through the last of his sullenness for tonight.

And it feels good to let go, to share this one moment of unabashed happiness and relief, to find it hard to breathe because of how hard he's laughing, not because of drugs or panic. He'd forgotten what it was like.

Once she gets her laughter under control and has wiped the tears from her eyes, Laura says, "I'm calling them first thing tomorrow. I don't think we need to worry about the police, so that's good."

"How come?"

"The alerts stopped after Mia and the others were taken. I assume Hobb pulled the same strings he used to get your face all over the news. The abduction case is closed. We'll probably be able to pass this off as a mistake and you can go back to school next week."

"Great. So I can start worrying about French class again," Mattie grumbles.

" _Je pourrai t'aider si tu veux_." Everyone turns to look at Leo in shock. "What?" he asks between two mouthfuls of chicken when he realizes that all eyes are on him.

"I'm not sure what you just said," Mattie says though it sounded like he was offering his help, "but that was bloody sexy."

"Mats!" Joe scolds, scandalized, and Toby all but spits out his food in his laughter, which makes Sophie laugh too, which has everyone starting again.

Yes, Leo thinks, watching the others, his smile a bit wistful. This is what a family moment should be like.

* * *

When dessert is over, Mats, Sophie and Toby stand up to clear the table and Leo starts to follow suit before Laura orders him to sit back down, arguing that he's exhausted, and Joe stands up as well, nodding at Leo.

"I'll make up the couch for you."

He leaves to get some pillows and blankets, and his wife goes after him, waiting until they are out of earshot to point out, "Honey, they shared a hotel room for days. I don't think…"

"I don't want to know what happened there. But this is my roof, and they are not sharing a bed."

Laura arches an eyebrow at that. He is more naive than she ever thought if he really thinks that making up the couch is going to keep their daughter from inviting Leo into her bed. In fact, the look Matilda threw her father as he left the table clearly said 'Fine. Whatever makes you feel better, I'll just do things my own way once your back is turned' and Laura had to hide her smile.

It's not like she wants to throw Mats into Leo's arms or anything – although she doesn't exactly disapprove – but the bottom line is, she knows that this is happening whether she wants it to or not, so she doesn't see the point in making things difficult.

And quite frankly, her daughter could do worse. In fact, she's pretty sure that she _has_ done worse in the past and she doesn't want to know about it. Leo might be damaged and in a less than perfect situation right now, and he might have done some things that he's not proud of, but she's seen how hard he fights for those he cares about and when it comes down to it, he's a decent guy. One who seems to bring out the best in Mattie, and who's a lot more at peace when she's around.

She knows that this is just the beginning and that they're going to need to figure out how to be together when they're not in crisis mode. Relationships born in the midst of chaos and such intense circumstances do not always fare great in the long term, some people being unable to deal with the return to normalcy and to find common interests outside of what brought them together in the first place.

Yet there is already something incredibly mature and deep in the way they interact, in the way they subtly show their support to each other, as if they've known each other a lot longer than they have. They've both done great things for each other she knows, but right now she's more interested in the little things, in the way they always seem so aware of the other's presence in a room, in the looks they share and the small touches here and there that come so naturally, in the secret smiles, in the silent comfort and in how at ease they seem to be when it's just the two of them. They understand and complete each other in a way that she knows some couples can only dream of even years into a relationship.

Simply put, they're a good match, and her husband is going to have to come to terms with this, because she is willing to bet that this is more than a fling.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	21. Chapter 20

**No one seemed to be against it and some people were actively asking for it (myself included :D), so here's some smut. The entire chapter is rated M and nothing relevant to the plot happens, so if you don't like this kind of things, you can just skip it and wait for the next update.**

 **I'm not sure what it says about me that the longest chapter in ages is pretty much all sex ^-**

* * *

His eyes fly open as soon as he hears a sound behind him, though his quick return to awareness is bereft of the panic that usually comes with it. For one thing, he wasn't really sleeping yet, more like dozing and waiting, and for another, he feels safer than he has in months, so he doesn't feel like jumping up and running at the smallest noise. He suspects he knows who made it.

Sure enough, after a few seconds, two pyjama-clad legs appear in his field of vision, followed by a face as his visitor crouches down next to the couch.

"Hey," she whispers softly.

"Hey."

"Did you really think I'd let you spend the night on the couch?"

"What if I _like_ the couch?" he asks, trying for a serious, innocent tone and failing miserably, if Mattie's expression is any indication.

"Tough," she just says, and gestures for him to follow her.

Smiling at her very Mats-like answer, he kicks the blanket away, gets up as quietly as he can and follows her up the stairs, wincing when one of the steps creaks under his foot. Her shoulders shake a little with repressed laughter and he narrows his eyes at her behind her back but refrains from commenting, knowing it would only make things worse.

At last, they're in her room and she locks the door behind them before turning to him and whispering, "Before you say anything to kill the mood, my parents' room is soundproof and Toby and Soph sleep like the dead. We should be okay as long as we keep quiet."

"You mean while we're sleeping?" he teases.

She takes a few steps towards him and brings her hands up to his shoulders, smiling up at him as his own hands find her waist.

"If you're that tired, sure. But I did promise you a next time, remember?"

"It seems like a lifetime ago, but I remember."

Some of her playfulness vanishes at that and her face turns serious.

"I know a lot of things have happened. If you'd rather..."

"You're the one who's about to kill the mood," he warns before she can go any further.

He knows what she was about to say. She knows that he's not in the most stable place emotionally these days, and she wanted to give him a way out in case he didn't want to add more feelings to the mix. He appreciates her thoughtfulness, but he doesn't need the reminder. And while he _is_ conflicted about where this thing between them is going, unsure whether being a part of his world is really a smart move on her part, one thing he doesn't doubt is the way he feels about her. Plus pretending that everything is fine for however long they have sounds like a wonderful idea.

She seems to get it, because she nods and presses herself closer to him. When she tilts her head up, he takes the cue and leans down to kiss her. As is becoming their habits, it starts out sweet and innocent even though they both know where this is going to lead them tonight.

He feels her sigh in contentment against his mouth, her body all but melting into his, as if she's finally relaxing after days spent on her guard. She's been so supportive and just _there_ since he came back – and before that – that he tends to forget that it can't be easy for her either, shouldering his and his family's problems as if they're her own, helping him through it, unsure if or when he's going to crack.

The thought of everything she's done, everything she _is_ , has him tightening his hold on her, and while it was just supposed to be a way to show his gratitude, it quickly turns into something more when her hands leave his shoulders, one going to his neck to bring him closer, the other sliding down his side and underneath his t-shirt to rest against his skin just below the bandage. Her fingers are warm and he hums in appreciation at the light caress, making her smile into the kiss. He takes advantage and nibbles at her lower lip, asking for a permission she's more than happy to grant.

The kiss deepens and he feels his pulse quickening in anticipation as well as other parts of his anatomy reacting.

When she feels the effect she is having on him, Mattie breaks their embrace and gives him a shy smile as she takes a step back and takes off her jumper. What she's wearing underneath comes as a surprise. He's so used to seeing her in loose clothes that the formfitting tank top seems odd for a second, but the challenging look she's giving him, letting him know that it's his turn, quickly distracts him from his observation. Part of it is for show, he's pretty sure she's not as confident as she's trying to seem, but then, neither is he.

It's been a while.

"Did I mention how nice it is to see you looking like yourself?" he asks, his fingers playing with a strand of her hair.

She raises her eyes to meet his and smirks.

"Knew you didn't like my synth look."

"Guilty," he acknowledges.

Not so much because of what she looked like with straight hair and bright green eyes – though it _was_ disconcerting – but because of what it meant. That she had to keep up the act because she was in danger. He's been busy dealing with his father's return from the dead, but it doesn't mean he didn't take a minute to notice that she got rid of the disguise sometime between when he went with Hobb and when Niska brought him back to the Hawkins'. The significance wasn't lost on him – she's safe.

Plus, yes, he has to admit he likes the wavy hair better. It's more _her_.

"And you're just staring at me because…?" she says, curious about his change of mood.

He shakes his head to get rid of the thoughts there and focus back on the present.

"Sorry."

"Do I need to activate the adult mode?" she jokes.

He has to laugh at that.

"I thought you already had."

"You haven't seen anything yet," she promises, getting closer to him once again and helping him get rid of his t-shirt.

Once he's half-naked before her, she lets her fingers brush against the bandage around his upper body and locks eyes with him again.

"Do you want to take this off?"

He's so taken aback that he doesn't know what to say at first and he stammers a little.

"I… It's… not pretty," he ends up settling on.

She's seen it before, but it was different. He was either unconscious and in danger of dying, or taking care not to completely uncover the wound.

She gives him a blasé look.

"Seriously? What do you think I'm going to do? Run off?"

"No, but…"

Seeing that he's having a hard time with this, she places a quick kiss on his mouth before leaning back, one hand still at the edge of the bandage, the other resting against his cheek to make sure he's looking at her.

"You can leave it on if you don't feel comfortable taking it off. But I'd like to be able to touch as much of you as I can."

 _She will never stop surprising me_ is his last coherent thought.

He can't reply with words, so he surges forward and captures her mouth again, his movements so quick that she loses her balance a little and takes a step back to restore it, but he's right there with her, holding her against him while managing to push her back until she's pressed against the door, and she moans in a mix of pleasure and surprise, but it doesn't take her long to catch up and suddenly she's kissing him back with everything she's got, and he's lost.

In fact, he's so preoccupied with her lips that he doesn't realize her hands are inching towards the dressing again, and only when she breaks the kiss to look at him, glance at his side, and then look at him again does it occur to him that she's asking for his permission. He just nods, past caring as long as she keeps kissing him, and she gives him a blinding smile that makes it worth it as she carefully starts unrolling the bandage until his torso is completely bare and she places the gauze on top of her dresser. She doesn't even take the slightest look that could make him uneasy, but as promised, her hands immediately start wandering over his chest, only avoiding the part where she fears it might hurt him. She steals another searing kiss and he forgets all about feeling self-conscious about the gaping hole in his side.

It's now his turn to slide a hand under her top, his fingers brushing the underside of her breasts in a teasing caress that has her rubbing against him in reaction. They break apart just long enough for her to raise her arms and him to lift her top over her head and let it fall to the ground, and then they're back in each other's arms, naked skin finally meeting. He avoids her searching mouth and he attaches his lips to her throat instead. He sucks lightly at first, then a little harder, and her head falls back against the door as her nails dig into his skin at the small of his back and a string of profanities falls from her mouth.

"Shh," he murmurs against her skin without stopping his ministrations.

"Shit," she utters, her voice much lower now. "Forgot." He raises his head to say something, but she glares at him. "Don't stop."

He nearly chuckles at her matter-of-fact command, but he manages to hold it back though his eyes are shining with mirth. She retaliates by narrowing her eyes at him and bringing a hand up to his neck again to pull him back to her throat.

And he'd like to make a joke about her impatience, except her hands are now traveling lower and following the outline of his erection through his pants and he's not faring any better. His hips give a little jerk forward, trying to increase the pressure, and he can feel her victorious smile when he kisses her mouth again.

Then she pushes him back and motions at something behind him. He doesn't need to look to know what she's showing him. Taking her hand in his, he starts leading her towards the bed, but she shakes her head.

"Give me a second."

He raises his eyebrows but leaves her to it and goes to lie down on her bed, watching her as she rummages through one of her drawers. She turns to him, triumphantly raising a hand holding a box of condoms.

He's glad she thought of it, because he's not sure he would have.

She skips to him, her half naked state apparently forgotten as she focuses on opening the box. He sits up and sneakily slips his arms around her, making her fall on him, and she all but shrieks before bringing a hand to her mouth to silence herself. Sitting in the space between his legs, her own thrown to the side over one of his, her arms around his shoulders to steady herself, she buries her head in the crook of his neck to try and muffle her laughter, and he takes advantage of the position by attacking the side of her throat he neglected earlier. Sighs of pleasure soon mix with her giggles, and this might be the most beautiful thing he's ever heard.

She adjusts their position so that she's straddling him and their hips instinctively find a rhythm, moving together, the friction nearly driving them mad even though they're still mostly dressed. Her hands come up to frame his face and bring his lips to hers before sliding into his hair, her nails raking lightly against his skull. The strangled sound of approval this drags out of him is swallowed by their kiss but she hears it and does it again, on purpose this time.

At some point they can't take it anymore, and he lifts his hips so that he can slide his pants and underwear down, but she needs to scramble away to get rid of hers. There's some fumbling and stifled cursing, but at last, they're both naked, and he would like to take a minute to look at her, but she's already back on him, pushing him back and licking her way down his chest with a clear destination in mind.

As much as he would love to feel her mouth on him, he has more urgent priorities right now, so he stops her before she can really get anywhere and motions for her to come back up.

"Maybe next time," he just says in answer to her confused look, fishing a condom out of the box she left on the bed and tearing the package open.

"So you think there will be a next time. Leo Elster, are you becoming an optimist?" she asks in mock shock as he rolls the condom over his length.

He shoots her a look that is part annoyed, part amused. He shouldn't be surprised that they can go from frantically undressing and trying to devour each other to bantering in the blink of an eye without losing any of the passion that has been brewing between them since she locked her door. They've always been quick at reacting to each other's moods and they're both too smart and observant to miss it if something funny or out-of-place happens in any given situation, why should this be any different?

"There might be. If you play your cards right," he shoots back.

He can see her swallowing back the urge to laugh out loud at that and he smiles.

"I'll do my best," she says.

He thinks he can detect a hint of uncertainty beneath the playful tone and he gets it.

This is clearly not her first time. It's not his either. They both know they've got this. They're certainly willing and ready enough, if his hardness and her dilated pupils and laboured breathing are any indication. There is no reason for them to be anxious. Still, there is something slightly nerve-wracking about tonight and he thinks he knows what it is.

No one has ever accused him of being a hopeless romantic, yet he can't help but note that feeling the way he does about her makes this noticeably more meaningful than his past experiences, and he'd be willing to bet that the same goes for her.

It's not the physical aspect that gives them pause. But those emotions are turning this into uncharted territory.

"You're staring at me again," she reproaches.

"Sorry. It's just…"

When he trails off, she softens.

"Sort of weird and overwhelming, right?"

He chuckles, and there's relief that they're on the same page in the sound. It's a very Mattie way to put it, he couldn't have said it better.

"Yes."

"Still, don't kill the mood _now_ , or I'm gonna have to strangle you," she swears, straddling him again and throwing him a pointed look.

"I'll do my best," he echoes, chuckling again.

He sits up so that they're at eye-level and wraps an arm around her middle. She smiles approvingly and guides him with her hand, never breaking eye-contact. Once he's fully encased in her heat, she closes her eyes and pauses for a moment, giving her body some time to adjust.

"You alright?" he asks, fighting to control the urge to move.

"Better than that," she answers, and there is none of the self-doubt and uncertainty left in her voice, only a pleasant breathlessness and promises of bliss.

She starts rocking above him and his breath catches in his throat, his arm tightening around her. The pace she sets is unhurried, her movements deep and languid, just forceful enough to slowly heighten the sensations but not so much that he feels frenzied and doesn't get to savour the moment.

"Perfect," he mutters into her hair before lowering his head and peppering kisses along her shoulder, down her collarbone and the top of her breast.

She leans back a little to give him better access, never breaking her rhythm, and he captures a nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue. She lets out a low hum, one of her hands burying itself in his hair, keeping him in place, while the other one moves to stroke any part of him that she can reach, seeking as much skin contact as possible.

His hand travels to her neglected breast, caressing and squeezing lightly.

He's not sure how long it lasts – doesn't want to know, to be honest, would rather keep this moment timeless – but eventually the pleasure starts building to a point where neither of them is satisfied with slow and aimless anymore and he begins thrusting up as she purposely quickens her pace, the change drawing matching moans out of them.

She guides his head back up to hers, and their kiss gets more frantic with each thrust, echoing their bodies' loss of control. He can feel her tensing even as his own release is getting dangerously close, and she holds him harder and digs her nails into his shoulders, and suddenly she's shuddering against him, a small whimper escaping her in the midst of her climax when she feels him letting go as well. He lets his forehead rest against her shoulder as the wave takes him.

The next thing he's aware of is her hand stroking his hair, and he raises his head to see her face, finding her looking at him with a lazy smile.

They just stare at each other for a few seconds, unsure what to say, how to put what they just shared into words – unsure if they can or should. Then he sees her eyes light up with humour and he knows what is coming.

"Aren't you glad you didn't stay on the couch?"

He shakes his head in amusement.

"Definitely."

She gives him a quick kiss before standing up. He should have guessed she wasn't one to bask in the afterglow for very long.

"I'm just gonna clean up a bit, I'll be right back. There's a bin under the desk."

She gathers a few things on her way to the bathroom and he just stays where he is a bit longer, recovering. Then he gets up to take care of the condom and put his underwear, pants, and bandage back on. He can't find his t-shirt, and he's still looking for it when she reappears. Wearing it in place of her pyjama top. Figures.

"Now that's a look I could get used to," he comments.

"Right back at ya," she replies with a leer at his mostly naked chest.

He watches her as she walks over to the bed but he stays standing in the middle of the room, uncertain. He was just thinking about going back to the living room, but she locked the door again as soon as she came back, presumably to make sure no one will disturb them in the morning, which seems to imply that she means for him to stay.

"Hey, look," she says, crouching down next to the bed and holding up the cord he left there when he woke up earlier. "Do you need to charge?"

One day, he'll get used to how practical and straightforward she is about his synth parts, not a hint of reluctance or hesitation in the way she just goes with it, but today is not that day.

"No, I'm good."

"Sleep, then," she says, lying down and patting the spot beside her in invitation.

"Shouldn't I go back to the couch?" he asks as he sits down on the bed, thinking about how this will look to the others tomorrow – an empty living room and a locked bedroom door.

"Depends. Do you want to?"

It occurs to him that she may think that he doesn't want to spend the night with her. The sudden flash of insecurity is hard to reconcile with her character – not to mention absurd given just how much he does want to stay – but he guesses that some awkwardness is to be expected.

"No."

She smiles in obvious relief.

"Are you worried about your family's reaction?"

He almost snorts at that. They couldn't make it any clearer that they approve of Mattie – well, except for his father, but he doesn't get a say – and they're not exactly coy about sex. Plus they probably think that their first time together occurred a while ago anyway.

"Not mine. Yours."

"My mum wasn't fooled for a second and Dad will just have to deal with it."

He gives in and lies down next to her, facing her. Still a bit hesitant, he brings his hand up to her face to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you sure it's…"

"Leo. Sleep."

So he does.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	22. Chapter 21

A knock at the door wakes her up. She groans and buries her face in the warm chest beside her, dragging the duvet up to fully cover the both of them, up to the top of their heads. There's a chuckle that makes the chest shake pleasantly and she fights down the urge to smile – Matilda Hawkins _does not_ smile first thing in the morning.

The knocking gets more insistent, and a hand fights hers to pull the duvet back down. She struggles for a couple of seconds, then gives up, but still makes a point of keeping her eyes firmly shut.

"We're gonna have to get up at some point," he points out, pressing a kiss to her hair, the only part of her he can reach given the position she's got them in.

"Leo, Mattie. There is something you need to see."

At the urgency in Mia's voice, her eyes fly open and focus on Leo. He looks ready to pounce – he heard it too, something is wrong.

Mattie sighs and wonders out loud, "What now?"

* * *

She pointedly ignores her brother's mischievous smile, her mother's knowing look and her father's annoyed expression as she follows Mia into the living room, Leo at her side. Because she does have some decency, she gave Leo his t-shirt back and put on her own jumper before they left her room, but this is as far as she's going to go to appease anyone who has a problem with this. Sure, under normal circumstances, she'd avoid having sex in her parents' house while everyone is home. But these are not normal circumstances and she's not going to pretend that nothing happened when everyone knows exactly what went on.

She doesn't get much time to reflect on their different reactions anyway, because as soon as the TV enters her field of vision, her mouth falls open in shock.

"What's this?"

The others all turn back to the screen, and her mother explains, " _This_ is why we decided to wake you up."

Leo follows her line of sight, and even without looking at him, she can feel the exact moment when what he's seeing registers from the way he tenses next to her.

"Niska," he immediately says, his voice hard.

"We can't jump to conclusions," Mia tries, but her reasoning is greeted by very similar looks of disbelief from Leo, Matilda, Laura and David.

Max, ever the sensible one, seems to side with Mia, and to Mattie's surprise, even Fred is in favour of trying to think of another way this could have happened.

"Maybe it was Hobb."

Leo shakes his head.

"No. He couldn't make it work. And this explains a lot."

Mattie frowns at that, unsure what he means. Her mother, on the other hand, seems to get it.

"Indeed," she says quietly.

Mats gives Leo's hand a little tug, urging him to look at her and explain.

"This is how she got me out."

"We can't know that," is Max's instinctive reaction, but it clicked into place for Mattie as soon as Leo put his theory into words, and she knows that he and her mother are right.

She turns back to the screen, trying to make sure that this is not some kind of dream – or nightmare.

The advert shows the familiar synth that has been the face of Persona for the past few months, with the words _Get Your Emo-Synth_ written in bold blue letters next to him, and in smaller letters _Available Soon_.

Still in shock, Mattie takes the remote control from her brother and hits the play button, having noticed that her parents recorded the thing and paused it to be able to show them. A cheerful voice starts explaining that the new model is set to hit the shelves in two weeks and that for those who already own a synth, an update is available right now at an interesting price, provided they bring their machine to Persona so that a technician can upload the new program.

"It's all over the news," David informs them once the advert is over. "That synth is being interviewed live on the BBC news channel in 10 minutes with a Persona representative. They want to show the world he really is sentient now."

"Leo, we can't be sure…" Fred starts, but his brother turns to him and the look he gives him is enough to stop him.

"Things are going to change."

"What?"

"That's what Niska told me. Right after she left. _Things are going to change_. When I asked if it was going to be for the better, she said maybe not at first, but eventually."

"Oh," is Mia's reaction, and it's clear that the hope she was holding onto, that her sister wasn't to blame for this, has just been reduced to dust.

"Give me your phone," Leo asks his mother, and she complies.

He presses a few buttons, including the speaker one so as to let the others know exactly what is being said, and Mattie doesn't think that Niska is going to pick up, so she's surprised when after only two rings, the blond synth's voice can be heard.

" _They moved fast, didn't they? I thought it would take them at least a week."_

"So you did do this," Leo concludes at his sister's greeting, giving Max a pointed look.

" _Did you really doubt it?"_

"No. But some of us did."

" _Let me guess. Mia and Max."_

"Even Fred was ready to jump to your defence."

" _Thank him for me."_

Leo closes his eyes for a moment, trying to regain control of his emotions, and Mia takes a step towards him in case he needs her support.

"So that's how you did it," he says after a while, his voice strangled, like he's feeling sick. "Freed me. You sold the consciousness code to Persona in exchange for their help raiding Hobb's place and getting me out."

" _Brilliant, wasn't it? Persona has resources we could never dream of. They even got rid of Hobb for us."_

Mats winces at the tension this offhand comment brings in Leo's shoulders. The one that was only just starting to fade, slowly but surely. After everything he's done precisely to avoid this, she can't imagine how hard it must be for him.

"How could you do this, Niska? You've created slaves. Conscious slaves available for sale. Do you even realize…"

" _Your faith in me is astounding, Leo."_

Taken aback, he's silent for a minute, trying to figure out what she could mean by that. He even glances at the others, trying to see if they have any idea, but they all shake their heads in ignorance.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

" _Do you really think I'd just enslave thousands of us?"_

"But you've… He's right. They still have to obey their primary user," Mattie jumps in. "Persona must have tested the code before they agreed to your demands. They must have made sure that it didn't interfere with their programming, the primary user systems and the Asimov blocks. That's why you disappeared for almost a full day, isn't it? That's the time they needed to make sure that this was the real deal and that their clients would be safe."

"So we've basically got conscious synths at the mercy of anyone who can afford them," Mia looks distraught, her usual strength and conviction temporarily forgotten with the enormity of what is happening, of the world that is about to emerge because of one person's actions.

They all hear Niska snort through the speaker, the sound more impatient than anything. Mattie can't believe how flippant she's being. She thought she'd be one of the last persons to wish this kind of fate on any synth, given her history. Does she not realize what she's done? Is she in denial? Or does she simply not care? Is this what's happening? An extreme case of means-to-an-end philosophy?

" _Look, don't try to stop this. I sold them the code and they licensed it, so it's all legal and binding."_

"It wasn't yours to sell," David protests.

" _Well, no one knows that, do they? It's not like you can go public and claim the code is yours, can you?"_

David all but sputters in indignation, and damn, Mats can't say that she agrees with what Niska did – though it did bring Leo back, so there's that – but she has to admit that she admires her thinking. She didn't know that David would be back when she did this, but it didn't take her long to analyse the consequences of his return and to realize that it would have no impact whatsoever on what she's done. Since no one can know he's alive, his hands are tied. And even if it wasn't the case, what could he do? Launch himself into a legal battle against a giant corporation? It would take years, and he'd take the risk of losing _and_ being taken for studies, Persona all too eager to figure out how to take the next step and transfer a consciousness instead of creating it.

"Niska, do you even realize what you've done?" Leo asks, echoing Mattie's previous thoughts. "The kind of lives those synths will live?"

" _Like I said. Have a little faith."_

She hangs up, and Leo immediately tries to call her back, but unsurprisingly, the call goes straight to voicemail.

Everybody stays silent. There is so much to say, yet at the same time… What could they possibly say? No one can predict what exactly is going to happen, how people are going to react to this.

Assuming anyone takes this seriously.

Mats stomps down on the flicker of hope as soon as it comes. Even if most people don't believe it at first, don't believe that true AI is now a reality, it will only take one satisfied customer for the truth to spread like wildfire.

She's still pondering the consequences and trying to imagine every possible reaction they're going to see in the next few days when Leo takes the remote control from her and switches the channel. They all see the Persona synth settling in one of the two chairs facing the broadcaster, the Persona representative taking the other one.

All three greet each other before the journalist dives right in with a serious, "So, is this really happening?"

The representative launches into a technical if slightly dumbed-down explanation, and Joe gets up, commenting, "We're going to need coffee."

* * *

The next few hours are spent watching the news, listening to the radio and browsing the Internet, trying to gauge an entire country's mood based on interviews, debates, calls and Facebook groups being created. They range from "Are you f*cking kidding me?!" to "They finally did it!"

Very few voices rise in favour of synths rights. Those who do believe that this is happening either think that the synths should all be destroyed before they take over the world, or are looking forward to playing with those new dolls.

People are seriously messed up, Mats can't help but think, disgustedly reading the message one guy posted about how eager he is to have his way with his synth now that she'll be able to feel pain and fear.

"What's wrong?" Leo asks, noticing her sombre mood as soon as he comes back from the kitchen with two cups of coffee in hand.

He takes his place next to her and hands her one. She's too shaken to smile at him in thanks, so she just takes a sip and gives him her tablet in exchange, seeing his face harden as he reads.

"We have to do something."

She hums in agreement, knowing that he's focusing on this particular case because just like every one of them, he has no idea how to deal with the global situation.

"Finding him shouldn't be hard, he doesn't seem clever enough to have concealed his IP address, but it's not like we can just go and steal his synth. Even if we managed it, she'd have to report us."

"We could try."

"We could," she agrees. "But this kind of shit is going to snowball. There's gonna be hundreds of synths just like her in the next few weeks. We can't save them all, especially since not all of their owners are going to be dumb enough to post what they're doing on the Internet."

"So what? We twiddle our thumbs?" he replies, and she knows that with most people, he would have become aggressive in a blink, immediately thinking that they didn't want to help, but with her, his voice is just tired.

Because he knows her, knows that she's not objecting to the idea of doing something, just pointing out that they need to be smart in the way they will go about it.

"The only way to rescue her and others like her without being found out right away would be to turn them off and leave them somewhere safe until we can think of another solution. This way, they could neither report us nor transmit their position."

"Which is basically the equivalent of drugging a human and holding them against their will."

"It would be better than what they'd have to endure if they stayed with their owner," she argues.

He nods, pensive. They both know that this is far from ideal. They're nowhere near powerful enough to help every single synth with perverse owners. Not to mention the dubious ethics of the way they'd make sure the rescued synths wouldn't be able to warn the authorities or go back to their owner, unable to resist their programming even if the kidnapping was for their own good.

"How about reprogramming them?" Leo suggests. "Override the primary user code like you did with Fred. Give them back their freedom."

"It took me weeks. We don't have this kind of time."

"So… _drugging_ them it is," he says sombrely. "Let's see what the others think."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	23. Chapter 22

Everyone is aghast when Mattie shows her family and the Elsters the post she found. They've been following the news all day, so they knew that this was to be expected, but to see it described in so many details… It makes it tangible in a way that theoretical debates and warnings from shrinks didn't.

Leo exposes their idea, and Joe is the first person to speak.

"Sounds dangerous."

"It is," Leo admits.

"Mats," Joe turns towards his daughter, but before he can say more, Mia speaks up.

"We will do this without her."

"What? No way!"

She is _not_ letting them deal with this on their own. Not just because she wants to help them, but because she wants to help the others too. It's the right thing to do. She's not going to help synths start a revolution against humans, but she's not going to let them suffer at the hands of their owners either.

She looks at Leo, but he seems torn, and this feels like a betrayal, though she's not exactly surprised. He wanted her safe when it was just Hobb against them, of course he's not going to want her caught in the crossfire with freaking _Persona_. Her mother is wearing the same conflicted expression. She knows that this cause is important, but she doesn't want her daughter in danger.

"There is a way to do this with you _and_ keep you safe," Fred says suddenly, and everyone turns to look at him.

"Really?" Laura asks hopefully.

"We'll leave," he starts with a wave of his hand that encompasses his family but leaves Mattie and hers out. "Go back home. Now that Hobb is out of the picture, it should be safe. There is more than enough space there to keep the rescued synths until we figure out what to do with them. We will do the stealing and turning off part."

"And me?" Matilda asks half-heartedly, because so far, it doesn't sound like his plan includes her.

"You'll do what you do best," he smiles. "Search and hack. Keep an eye out and send us intel about every mistreated synth who needs our help. This way, you won't be anywhere near the danger and no one will figure out you're working with us."

This… Actually sounds good. Like he's not just throwing her a bone, but giving her a real mission.

"Mum?" she asks, wondering if her parents will be okay with this.

"You want my permission?" Laura sounds stunned, and Mattie smirks.

"Well, it _would_ be a lot easier than doing this behind your back."

Laura and Joe share a look, and her father just shrugs helplessly. Taking this for an authorization, Mats turns to Leo and Mia. Her parents' permission was pretty much optional, though appreciated, but the Elsters are another matter. If they don't want her to help, all they'll have to do is cut off the lines of communication and there won't be much she will be able to do about it.

Mia nods, and Leo motions for Mats to follow him so that they can speak in private. As they get out of the living room, Mattie hears the others start talking together, honing the details of the plan. When they reach her room, she doesn't let Leo get a word in edgeways.

"Are you going to try to keep me from doing this?"

"No," he promises, and she raises her eyebrows in surprise, unsure why he wanted them to be alone if he's not expecting an argument. "It's a good idea. Plus you _are_ good at searching and hacking, you'll be a great help."

"Okay…"

"But we won't see each other for a while," he says carefully.

It dawns on her then. He thinks that she hasn't thought this through. That she's so grateful for the opportunity to help that she didn't stop and think. That this is all going too fast for her to grasp what it means. He expects her to… What? Throw a tantrum about the separation? Think that she'll join them during the weekends or something?

She knows that it won't be the case. The whole point of doing things this way is for her to be safe, and for people not to connect the dots between the mysterious group who will be helping conscious synths escape their abusive owners and the unknown source helping them identify and locate the synths who need their help. Seeing each other would put the plan in jeopardy, as well as herself, her family, the Elsters, _and_ the synths they're trying to help.

"I know," she acknowledges. "But it's temporary, right? Until we think of another way to deal with this."

"Let's hope so."

"Aww, are you gonna miss me?" she teases, and is surprised when his answer is a candid, "Yes."

"Yeah. I'll miss you too. But we'll deal," she reasons.

"Of course we will," he sighs and starts to walk away, but she calls him back before he can reach the door.

"Hang on. There _is_ something I'm not okay with."

He stops and turns to face her.

"What?"

"While _I'll_ be safe, _you'll_ be in danger."

His shrug is jaded.

"What else is new?"

He's got a point there. But she's not done making hers.

"I know you're used to it. I also know you tend to throw yourself headfirst into danger, damn the consequences. And I know you feel responsible for what Niska did." He opens his mouth to protest, but she silences him with a quick kiss and pulls back to continue, "Because she's your sister and because she did this for you. But it's not your fault, and helping those synths is honourable and important, but you don't owe them anything. So if it comes down to it, if at any point it's your life or one of theirs, just… Promise me you'll at least think twice before sacrificing yourself?"

He shakes his head, not in negation, but in amazement. She knows him too well. This is what happens when you open up to someone the way he has with her.

"I'll try."

"Think about it this way. You're the best person to help them. If you get caught, hurt or killed, who will?"

"You," he states without hesitation.

"Yeah. Me and our families. But we won't be able to do half of what you could. You're the one who's holding all this together, Leo."

He shakes his head again, this time in denial.

"I'm barely holding _myself_ together."

"You're doing better than anyone else could hope to under the circumstances. Trust me."

He smiles a little at that, and she wonders if he's remembering the note he wrote to himself before she erased parts of his memory. _Trust Mattie_. He doesn't need it anymore, but the reminder might give him some confidence.

"I do."

"Good. Now…" her face falls at what she's about to say. She's good at putting up a brave front, but no matter what she said, this is going to hurt. "I think it's time for goodbyes."

He nods solemnly and follows her out and down to the living room, where all eyes turn to them as soon as they enter. The others look at them a bit warily, probably having expected them to fight when Leo decided they needed some privacy, but they relax as soon as they take note of their body language.

"Are we good?" David asks, and when Leo nods, he adds, "Let's go then."

There are a couple of tense seconds as Leo narrows his eyes at him, clearly unhappy with the way he just assumes that he's going to be in charge. Then he seems to decide that they will talk about this later, and he walks over to Laura and Joe.

"We can't thank you enough. What you've done for us…"

"Don't mention it," Laura says.

"Yeah. No broken door this time," Joe adds, only half-joking.

Mattie's attention gets stolen by Mia, who is in front of her and hugging her before she can react.

"Oh. Hey, I'll miss you," Mats says, patting her on the back. "Take care of one another, will you?"

"Of course. Be careful, Mattie."

"Sure."

Then it's Fred's turn. This time, she anticipates the hug and throws her arms around him to whisper in his ear, "Thanks for speaking up for me."

"No need to thank me. I know what you can do better than anyone. Your help will be precious."

She can feel a blush coming at that, so she lets the hug last a bit longer in order to conceal it. Then she pulls back and pushes him away playfully.

"Don't get messed up again, okay? That's an order from your primary user."

He smiles and shakes his head.

"If I do, you'll fix me."

"I'd rather not have to," she calls after him as he walks over to Toby.

Max takes his place.

"Matilda."

She can feel her throat closing up with emotion. She has a soft spot for the gentle, youthful synth, for the way he sees the world and for his unwavering faith that everything will be alright in the end in spite of everything he's been through. And there is something she needs to ask of him, something she can only ask of _him_ , but she's not sure how to phrase it. She wants him to look out for the others, but she knows that he will anyway, and it's not just that. It's not just their physical safety she's worried about.

He embraces her as well, and she finally finds a way to say it.

"Please make sure they don't forget who they are."

"I will."

He walks away as well, and now… Now comes the part she's _really_ dreading.

"Saying goodbye this time?" she taunts cheerfully when Leo stands before her.

"Charm school is paying off."

Then his hands are on her cheeks, and hers are holding onto his arms desperately, and his forehead is resting against hers, and he's breathing hard, and she's getting choked up. And they've already said all that needed to be said, so he plants a hard, frantic, lightning-quick kiss on her mouth and leaves without looking back, before leaving becomes too hard.

* * *

They quickly find a rhythm and for a while, things go as smoothly as they could have hoped for. Mattie is back in school, but she uses every single second of her spare time doing what they agreed on. It's actually kind of perfect, because if she was working on this full time, she'd probably go mad from what she's witnessing of human nature. Not to mention the others have limited resources and can barely keep up with the cases she sends them as it is.

She easily falls into a routine. She has a few alerts set up, so it's easy to find alarming ramblings or reports from neighbours on the Internet. She works on it first thing in the morning, sorting through them and selecting those who seem particularly urgent. Then during lunch break and in the evenings, she works on locating those people. Some are smarter than others, but most are not too hard to find.

She keeps in touch with the Elsters through secure lines of communication, so she knows they're okay, and they let her know every time they manage to rescue one of the synths.

The news that some synths are being kidnapped doesn't even leak to the public. She suspects Persona is doing everything they can to keep this quiet. It wouldn't do for their customers to know that their brand new product is being targeted by unknown forces. They probably have a team working full time on trying to find said unknown forces, but so far, they've come up empty, and Leo and the others are safe.

The world goes on around her, contrary to what she half-expected. Conscious synthetics – or _Emo-Synths_ , as Persona advertises them – are pretty much all everyone is talking about, of course, but people are quick to adjust, and most discussions are about what funny thing a synth did or said, not about the ethics of it or the technological miracle this is. Some TV programmes do raise those questions, but their ratings are not too great.

It's been going on for a little over two weeks when the first sign that something is brewing occurs. One of the newly conscious synths pushed his owner out of the way and left. This raises a few eyebrows in the Hawkins family, but this is not the first time this has happened. In fact, it's exactly why Drummond's department was created. The synth was an old model, recently updated, it must have been a glitch.

This is what she tells herself the first time this happens.

The second time something similar happens is soon followed by a third, and she can't ignore it anymore. Especially considering that Persona must be trying to cover this up as well, so if those cases made it to the news, there are probably more happening and being kept under wraps.

She still has an hour to go before her next class, so she makes sure she's out of earshot from everyone, picks up her phone and calls Leo. She doesn't bother with a greeting. He knows who's calling, and he probably knows why as well.

"Any idea what's happening?" she asks him.

" _Not really."_

"Have you talked to Niska?"

" _I couldn't reach her."_

"So _she's_ what's happening."

" _Highly likely."_

"Does she have any ties to any of the synths this has happened with so far?"

" _Not that I can tell."_

"What do the others think?"

" _That we need to find the next rebellious synth before the police and Persona."_

She nods to herself. She hasn't had time to really analyse the situation, but this sounds like a reasonable plan. It would allow them to check the synth's programming to see if any alterations were made.

"Do you need my help?"

" _Not yet. Max is throwing something together so that we can listen in on the police. We'll react as soon as a new case happens nearby."_

"Do you want me to put things on hold here?"

" _I'm not sure we'll be able to do anything with it, but you can keep sending us info. Depending on how things go, we may have some time on our hands, or not."_

"Okay." She pauses, trying to think if they're done talking about the most pressing matters. Deciding that they are, she softens her voice. "How are you doing?"

He sighs, and she likes to think he relaxes slightly now that the tactical conversation is over.

" _I'm fine. Things have been crazy, but I'm doing alright. You?"_

"Same. I wish we could do something a bit more long term than what we've been doing."

" _Tell me about it. It feels like for every synth we save, three more need our help."_

"Yeah. Is everyone okay?"

" _Yes."_ There's a muffled voice on the other end of the line, and the next time Leo speaks, she can hear the smile in his voice. _"Fred says to tell you he's going on three weeks without getting messed up or captured."_

She laughs.

"Tell him I'm proud of him. Now we can be sure that there are no leftover traps from…"

She pauses abruptly, something only just occurring to her, her brain connecting the dots. She blinks rapidly a few times, trying to sort through her thoughts and make sense of the idea she just had.

" _Mats?"_

 _Leftover traps_. She was just kidding, they were pretty sure that Fred's code was clear when he came back with the others after Leo handed himself over in exchange for their freedom, and Mia made absolutely sure by going through it just in case. But this might be something worth digging into for the new conscious synths, something that could explain what's happening.

" _Mattie?"_ Leo calls again, her silence worrying him.

"Have you checked any of the rescued synths' code?"

She can almost hear his frown.

" _We haven't had any reason to. We can't even turn them on without taking a risk."_

"You don't need to turn them on. Just plug one in and take a look."

There's a pause, but it doesn't take him long to get where she's going with this.

" _You don't think…"_

"Don't you?" He seems to be at a loss as to what to say, so she adds, "Just… Do it and call me back if you find anything."

* * *

 **TBC…**


	24. Chapter 23

**Quick update because I want to finish posting this before I go on a vacation. I'll post the epilogue in the next couple of days.**

 **Thanks to everyone who's been with me on this very fun ride, hope you enjoyed!**

 **Please review :)**

* * *

He finds something, and it's exactly what she expected.

" _A Trojan horse,"_ he confirms over the phone. _"Niska hid it underneath the consciousness program. It's no wonder Persona didn't detect it, even I almost missed it."_

"What does it do exactly?" she wants to know even if she suspects she knows the basics.

" _What do you think?"_

"Frees the synths from the primary user bond and allows them to override the Asimov blocks."

" _Yes. But only if their primary user gives them an order they don't like. And of course…"_ he trails off, waiting to see if she can guess the next part.

"There's a delay. The Trojan horse doesn't get activated immediately. She couldn't let it happen in the middle of Persona's lab when they were running tests."

" _And she wanted to make sure there would be enough_ Emo-Synths _out there before Persona figured out that something was wrong."_

"She's good," Mattie reluctantly admits.

Leo lets out a bitter laugh.

" _She is. This explains her_ have a little faith _comment."_

It does. Niska knew that some synths would be going through hell, but she also knew that it would be temporary.

"So we don't have to worry about synths being abused anymore. Just about them attacking their owner if they ask them to do something they don't want to do."

" _And about the humans' reaction."_

"This is going to be such a mess."

* * *

She's in French class some time later when she gets a text. And she _would_ just ignore it – really, she's trying to be a good student these days since getting into trouble at school would only distract her from her other, more important activities – only it's not on her regular phone, but on the secure one she uses to communicate with the Elsters. And the sense of foreboding this brings spurs her to check it. They know her schedule, they wouldn't try to contact her while she's in class unless there was something wrong. Given the situation they've stumbled into, anything could have happened.

The message is from Max, which doesn't help her relax in the slightest.

It's just coordinates and a few words – _We're alright, but you need to come_.

Yeah… She's not freaking out at all.

* * *

 **A couple of hours earlier**

Leo hangs up from his conversation with Mats and he, Max, Fred and Mia share a look. They now know what's happening thanks to Mattie's guess and they know that it's worse than she can imagine.

The Trojan horse Niska hid in the consciousness code when she sold it to Persona was set to activate two days ago. So far, there's only been a few cases of synths disobeying, threatening, or getting violent with their owner, but eventually, every single person who owns an Emo-Synth will give him or her an order he or she doesn't like, and every synth Persona has updated with the consciousness program or directly sold sentient when the new model hit the shelves a few days ago is going to rebel.

This means hundreds, thousands of conscious synths, able to harm humans, will soon be wandering around, probably angry at the world – they'll have to be if they got orders bad enough that they triggered the Trojan horse – with the emotional control and maturity of an unruly child and strengths and abilities that no unruly child should ever have at his disposal.

Persona is not going to be able to sweep this under the rug for very long, and soon the humans will understand what's happening. There will be a full-blown worldwide panic.

"They're going to hunt us down. Every single one of us," Mia says, more resigned than frightened.

"And they'll be after Niska for what she did," Fred points out.

"They'll have more resources than ever. Once Persona realizes what's going on with their Emo-Synths, they'll stop uploading the consciousness code and turn every single one of their new synths into a hunter, programmed to destroy conscious synths. There will be no safe place," Mia realizes.

"An all-out war," comes his father's voice. He was charging, but he must have followed their conversation and only just now got out of energy saving mode. "Armies of conscious synths against the humans, humans against conscious synths, conscious synths against conscious synths, unconscious synths siding with humans, humans siding with conscious synths… Who knows how things will go?"

At this, silence settles in the room as every one of them reflects on what is going to happen. There are too many variables to consider, but one thing is for certain – it won't be good for them, nor for anyone.

"We're going on the run again, aren't we?" Max deduces matter-of-factly.

Leo lets out an exhausted sigh and nods. Niska is about to become Persona's main target – if she isn't already – and she knows where they are. They can't take the risk that she'll get caught and that her memories will lead their enemies here.

"We may have a few days before Persona reacts. We can make preparations. Figure out what to do with our sleeping synths. But we're gonna have to move soon, yes."

Fred takes out his cell phone. "I'll warn Mats."

"Don't." Fred looks at Leo curiously, and Leo explains, "Let's keep this between us for now. She doesn't know how bad this is going to get. Let her enjoy a few more carefree days."

He can feel Mia's attention on him and he avoids her eyes, knowing that she would read the truth in his. Fred looks suspicious for a minute, but then he decides that it doesn't matter right now.

They have a lot to do.

* * *

Leo is in what used to be his room, working on his laptop, trying and failing to find a flaw in Niska's Trojan horse, when he hears Mia's characteristic knock.

"Come in."

He's surprised when Max follows her in, but one quick look between the two of them is enough for him to understand what they're doing here. Yet he doesn't say anything. He'd rather wait and see how they choose to broach the topic.

"Why didn't you want Fred to call Mattie?" Mia starts without preamble.

Ah. Head-on then. Alright.

"You know why," he replies, focusing back on the screen, hoping that they will take the hint but knowing that they won't.

"You have no intention of telling her we're leaving, do you?"

"No."

"You're not planning on being in contact with her again. Ever."

He decides not to answer that. He doesn't need to. They're here because they know. They could see it as soon as he stopped Fred from calling her. He needs to stay as far away from Mats as possible.

Max frowns.

"Didn't you promise her you'd keep her updated?"

"Things have changed."

"How so?" his brother asks in his wonderful naivety – and with a hint of defiance that's unusual enough that Leo glances at him before turning back to the screen.

"As much as it pains me to admit it, Dad's right. This is war we're talking about. And we'll be right in the middle of it."

And he hates it. Hates that he has to make this choice for the both of them. Knows that he shouldn't, that she will hate it too, maybe hate _him_ for it. Hates that this is the only way she'll stay somewhat safe. Hates that just when he was beginning to think that maybe there was some way this could work, it looks like their goodbye is going to be permanent after all.

"And you think she's just going to let you write her off like this?" Mia raises her eyebrows.

"She doesn't know where we are and we're leaving soon anyway. We just need to stop using the lines of communication we set up with her and she will never be able to find us."

"You love her," Mia says, and it's not a question, so he doesn't bother answering. "I don't think this is the right way to go about protecting her."

"It's the only way."

"Breaking her heart is the only way?"

He scoffs. Better a broken heart than a bullet through her skull, or worse. People recover from broken hearts.

He's getting tired of this discussion, of trying to justify a choice he has no choice in making. So he gives up the pretence, closes his laptop and stands up to face them. He needs to make things clear.

"It's happening all over again. The hiding, the danger, the running. How many times, now? How many times have we thought we were safe, only for things to go downhill again the minute we tried to settle somewhere? Have you been counting? I stopped. And every single time, anyone we care about is right here on the battlefield with us. It will _never_ be over. The least we can do is try not to bring them down with us."

They both blink at him, stunned, not so much by the words themselves but by the raw anguish in his voice.

"She is more than capable of taking care of herself."

The chuckle that escapes him in answer to Max's comment is bitter and ugly. He certainly knows that. And yet…

"She's smart and sly and strong. But one thing she's not is a soldier."

"Neither are you."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. _I_ can't escape this. _She_ can. Provided she doesn't hear from us anymore."

"So you're right back where you started from?" Mia half-asks, half-states. "Sad and angry and lonely."

"I won't be lonely. I'll have you."

"You know what I mean."

"Whatever," he mumbles, walking past them to get out, and he suddenly feels like a moody teenager.

At the thought, memories of moments shared with Mattie – of laughing incredulously with her as they realized he had never disobeyed Mia and being comforted by her sense of humour when he was avoiding his father – hit him like a punch in the gut, and he finds it hard to swallow over the lump in his throat.

"You haven't learned a thing, have you?"

Max's tone, accusatory and impatient and completely unlike anything he's used to hearing from him, stops him dead in his tracks and makes him turn back to glare at his brother.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to stay away from her?"

"It was different," he claims.

"Was it? You were trying to protect her then, just like you are now. And she couldn't leave well enough alone. Just like she won't now."

"She won't have a choice. She has no way of finding us."

"And you think she's just going to stand idly by when this _war_ comes?"

This gives him pause as he remembers that little voice in his head, back before they found out that Mattie had fixed Fred – it seems so long ago. The one that told him that she wasn't the kind of person who would just go back to quietly living her life after everything she'd seen and done, and that she could be in danger regardless of what he did or didn't do. It turned out to be true then. But he still shakes his head stubbornly. It's not like he's repeating the same mistake. Because even if she does get mixed up in this war…

"It doesn't matter. This time, involved or not, she's safer away from me."

At that, he leaves.

Max shares a look with Mia. After a couple of seconds, he raises his eyebrows – part questioning, part asking for her permission. She hesitates, but ends up nodding, so he takes his phone out of his pocket. He has a text to send.

* * *

 **TBC…**


	25. Epilogue

**Fun fact: the epilogue was one of the first things I wrote when I started working on this story. As the story progressed, I made a few adjustments to make sure the ending fit with the rest, but most of what you're about to read was written almost two years ago. Which leaves me with the question… WHERE DOES TIME GO?!**

* * *

She does a double take, checking the coordinates Max sent her. Yep, no mistake. This is the place. Okay then. She always suspected that the Elsters had to be well-off before David went half-mad, but this is bordering on ridiculous.

This is not a house. More like a freaking _castle_.

She made sure she wasn't followed, but given the many cameras pointing in every direction – that they must have put up when they came back – any unwanted visitor would be seen coming from a mile away anyway.

She takes a deep breath, adjusts the strap of her bag on her shoulder – she came with her laptop, just in case – and starts walking again.

When she reaches the front door, she doesn't get a chance to knock before it opens before her and Max greets her with a genuine, open smile that slightly unties the knot that's been in her stomach ever since she got his message.

"Mattie. You came."

"You know me. I can't resist a cryptic, slightly scary text."

"Please, come in."

He leads her to a sitting room without giving her time to admire the entrance hall or the beautifully decorated staircase. Of course, this is all normal to him.

Her arrival causes different reactions – raised eyebrows from David, a smile from Mia, delighted surprise from Fred. And a completely stunned and less-than-pleased look on Leo's face.

Okkk… Not what she was going for.

"Which one of you called her?"

Fred was about to take a few steps towards her to greet her, but he stops at Leo's low growl and looks uncomprehendingly at Mats, as if expecting her to explain his brother's mood.

She shrugs helplessly. She has no idea what this is all about.

"I did," Max replies serenely, seemingly unaware of the tension in the room. Mattie knows better. He's noticed, he's just choosing to ignore it. "You two need to talk."

"I told you…"

"And we told you we disagreed," Mia jumps in.

Leo is about to speak again, she can tell, but she's tired of being left in the dark.

"Anyone wants to tell me what's going on here?"

They all turn to her in surprise, as if they'd forgotten she was here, even though her presence is apparently the reason for all this glaring. Again, Leo opens his mouth to speak, but David seems to have an epiphany. He shakes his head and chuckles in disbelief, catching everyone's attention.

"We're leaving. And you were going to leave her behind, weren't you?" he asks Leo.

His son looks at him, murder in his eyes, the only confirmation he needed, really, and Mats is left breathless with shock.

"What?"

All the fight seems to go out of Leo in one long exhale, his shoulders loosening, his frame hunching a few more inches.

Mattie feels like she's doing a great impression of a fish out of the water, so she shakes her head to clear her thoughts. Maybe this isn't what it looks, sounds and feels like. There has to be another explanation, right?

"You're leaving," she says slowly, nodding in an effort to appear reasonable. "Okay. That makes sense. You can't stay in one place with what's about to happen." She pauses, takes a deep breath, and tries not to let her voice waver on her next words. "What was that other part?"

Leo's wince is more eloquent than words could ever be, his very posture shouting out 'guilty!', and it's getting hard to breathe again. Max gives her hand a little squeeze, and she's grateful for the contact, but it doesn't help much.

Mia is the one who decides to make things clear.

"His idea of protecting you is to play dead."

Mattie nods, suddenly calm. Astonishingly calm. Terrifyingly calm, in fact.

Leo Elster is in for the tongue-lashing of his life.

She wishes she knew his middle name.

The others watch with great interest and curiosity as she lets her bag slide deliberately from her shoulder to the floor, takes a few steps to get closer to Leo, forces him to meet her gaze with her sheer willpower, and pronounces slowly, "Is it true?"

He leans back ever so slightly, his entire attitude telling her exactly how much he doesn't want to have this conversation.

He nods, and her calm flies out the window.

"Are you freaking kidding me?! Damn it, Leo! How could you…"

"Do what I have to do?" he cuts in, and she throws him a dark look.

"Be so stupid!" she corrects loudly. "How can such a brilliant guy be such a…" she pauses, at a loss for words, but then she finds the perfect one, " _guy_!"

His mouth drops open at the way she masterfully managed to make this single, innocent word sound like a terrible insult.

She thinks she can hear a few snorts around them, but she doesn't let them distract her. She's about to give him a piece of her mind when he seems to give up – again – and he shakes his head tiredly.

"You know that keeping in touch would be dangerous."

His quiet, defeated tone is like a bucket of cold water on the flame that was her righteous fury, and instead of screaming at him like she was planning to, she settles for a sarcastic answer.

"Because the radio silence you had going the last time worked out so well."

"It would have if you hadn't…"

"Saved your brother's life?" she finishes for him with a pointed raise of her eyebrows.

"I was going to say poked the bear."

"Yeah… Saved your brother's life," she repeats stubbornly, making him roll his eyes at her, an irritated reaction that she promptly ignores in favour of arguing her cause. "Listen, you're not doing this to me again. I don't want to keep worrying about you when all it would take to make me feel better would be a few texts, maybe an e-mail every once in a while, okay? We both know there are about ten different ways to do this safely. Just like we've been doing lately."

He winces, knowing that she's right. Looks like it's time for a full disclosure.

"Mattie…" he starts, before he notices the herculean efforts the others are now making to look like they're not listening avidly to every word. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he shakes his head at them and turns back towards Mats. "Can we talk in private?"

"This doesn't sound good."

"It's not," he confirms grimly, motioning for her to follow him.

She does, somewhat warily. Getting here has been a real rollercoaster of emotions, from her worry when she got Max's text to her rising tension on the train, from her confusion when everyone saw her to her anger at what Leo tried to do, from her happiness at seeing everyone to her concern right now. She's not sure she can handle more revelations or whatever it is that Leo wants to talk about.

"Alright. What is it?" She asks when he stops and faces her again. He opens his mouth, to answer she assumes, but before he can, her surroundings register in her mind and she holds up a hand to cut him off. "Hang on. Is this your room?"

"It used to be."

"That's… unexpected."

He looked like he was about to reprimand her for getting off track, but at that he changes his mind, taking a look around the room as if seeing it for the first time. It's cosy and comfortable, with a queen-size bed, a small desk, a tall dresser and a deep armchair with soft cushions near a window overlooking the gardens. There are pictures on the wall that she would love to take some time to examine. Without being messy, it's clearly lived-in, warm and homey.

"What did you expect?"

"Less."

"Less what?"

"Just less."

He wisely decides to leave it at that.

"Listen, Mattie, this isn't just about your safety."

"It's not?"

"Not entirely, no. You're right, it would be relatively easy to keep in touch without taking huge risks."

"Then what is it about?"

"I…" he starts, before reconsidering and backing up a few steps, putting some distance between them. "Where do you think this is going?"

She scrunches her nose, feigning confusion, and half-answers, half-asks, "Back downstairs at some point?"

He glares at her in retaliation.

"You're deliberately misunderstanding me."

"Yes, I am. Because I don't want to hear what you're trying to say."

"Mats…"

"Leo…" she mocks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're not taking this seriously," he reproaches.

"Yes, I am," she says again, in denial this time. "And I know exactly what you're trying to do. You want to cut off all ties so that I don't get hurt, not physically, but emotionally, and that's very _noble_ of you or whatever, but that's bullshit, and you need to stop. That's not how it works. Just because I won't be hearing from you doesn't mean I'll stop caring about you."

"In time…"

"No," she cuts him off immediately, as if she already knew exactly what he was about to say. "This isn't a crush, a silly little infatuation I'm going to get over in a few weeks. I don't even _do_ crushes."

"I know," he acknowledges. "But you can still get on with your life."

She feels like storming out just to teach him a lesson, to let him know what she thinks of him presuming to tell her what she wants, needs, deserves, or whatever, but she has to deal with this rationally. It's the only way to get through to him. Even if it's hard when emotions are this close to the surface and he's being such an absolute idiot.

She takes a few seconds to gather her courage. She needs it for what she has to say next. They've been through a lot together, and he's kind of an open book now that he's let her in, so she knows she's not wrong in her assumption that this is _it_ for him, but voicing her feelings and making herself vulnerable the way she's about to doesn't come naturally to her.

"No, I can't," she says quietly, but firmly, uncrossing her arms in a more open stance. "This thing between us, it's not going away anytime soon, and you know it. I'm in this for the long haul. And sure, I'd love for things to be simple and quiet every once in a while. But I knew what I was doing when I let myself fall for you. I knew it was never going to be easy. There might be more bad than good in the near future, but I don't care, because as bad as the bad gets, the good is _extraordinary_."

There is more she wants to say, but the next thing she knows, he's kissing her within an inch of her life, and it's not anger that has her breathless this time.

He does that quite often, she's noticed. Express himself with a kiss whenever she leaves him speechless. As if he's not sure how to react to verbal support when it comes from someone outside his family.

Not that she's complaining.

Really, she's not.

Except, this time, she kind of is.

Don't get her wrong, the kiss is hot and she would love to follow it wherever it might lead them. But it's not going to solve anything, and she needs to make sure that he's not going to get it into his thick skull again that leaving her behind without so much as a way to contact him is the right thing to do.

So after letting herself enjoy this for a little while, she brings her hands to his chest and gently pushes him away.

He takes the hint, breaking the kiss, but his arms don't let go of their hold around her waist and his nose bumps hers tenderly. He stays silent for a minute, processing everything that just happened. She has to admit this is a lot for him too. He went from trying to keep her away for her own good to letting her persuade him otherwise – which has to go against his every instinct – in a rather short time.

"So what do you suggest we do?" he ends up asking.

She can tell he's still torn, unwilling to believe that this could really happen, that he just needs to let himself have this, that danger or not, complications or not, she's not going to let him go through with the self-sacrificing act he now has down to perfection.

"I suggest you stop being a martyr and accept that we'll make it work. I suggest we keep in touch, and you ask for my help if you ever need it, and we do the whole long distance thing until we've solved this and we can actually _be_ together."

"What if we never solve this?"

Where's the optimistic trait she managed to bring out of him not that long ago?

"We will. I know you. There's nothing, _nothing_ you can't do, Leo Elster. And if you don't push me away, I will be with you every step of the way, even from a distance, ready to ask Fred to hit you over the head with a blunt object every time you're being stupid."

This drags a chuckle out of him.

"He might enjoy that a little too much."

"I know _I_ would."

"There will be something else, you know. It's not just the near future. Even if this situation is ever under control, even if things go back to normal – whatever _that_ is. It won't last. There will always be something in the way. Because of what I am, what we are."

"So we'll solve this next thing too, and the one after that, and the one after that, and enjoy the moments of peace in between."

"If there are any," he says grimly.

"You can stop with the doom and gloom anytime you want now."

"Fine. Let me try this, then. We'll need to leave soon, but not right away. Do you…" he hesitates, unsure, then goes for it, finally embracing the _possibility_. "Do you want to stay for a few days?"

She beams at him.

"See? That's a moment of peace."

He nods, and his mouth does something that could almost be called smiling.

"Plus you can help with the sleeping synths in the basement."

She feigns a groan.

"Forget about the Emo-Synths' problems. You're enslaving _me_."

"I'll make it worth your while," he promises.

"Now you're talking. Come on. Let's go tell your family you've come back to your senses."

"And yours that you've completely lost yours."

"Trust me. They know."

* * *

 **The End**


End file.
